


In Family we Trust

by Accidentalshipper



Series: The Paranormal Adventures of Lena Luthor [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Feelings Realization, Ghosts, Lena Luthor & Winn Schott Jr. Friendship, Lena Luthor-centric, Lena loses a family but gains another, Lena sees dead people, Mystery, Slow Burn, and so does Lena, lena & maggie friendship (later on), lots of angst in the beginning, the story gets happier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:13:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 129,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11236479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accidentalshipper/pseuds/Accidentalshipper
Summary: "Lena, listen to me. I have seen things, and I know it sounds ludicrous, but I think I saw the future.”This wasn’t real. This wasn’t actually happening. She was just in shock. He was not here. It was not real.“Lena!”Lena froze and turned her head back towards Lionel Luthor. The man who had adopted her.Lionel, her father.Who had died two days ago.ORThe Ghost Whisperer-like AU that also complies with canon (for the most part)





	1. Lionel Luthor

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the TV series 'La Porta Rossa'

 

 

_September 7 th 2003_

 

Lena had been a Luthor for seven years now. Seven years, since Lionel Luthor had guided her into their mansions living room and had introduced her to her new mother. The fact that she was adopted, really shouldn’t have affected her that much. It really shouldn’t have. After all, she couldn’t remember what the world looked like at 4 years old. She couldn’t remember the face of the woman who had given birth to her, and even the idea of not having an older brother seemed like an entirely foreign concept to her.

And yet, there was one problem; Lillian Luthor.

The woman claimed she was raising a scientist. Claimed that in order to be a successful person, she would always have to question the things that surrounded her and, by extension, always question whether people were telling the truth or if they had something to hide. What Lena experienced, however, was rather different.

Every misstep, seemed to lead to an insult. Anytime she forgot to carry herself with poise and dignity, was an excuse to remind her she wasn’t truly a Luthor. And if she dared to talk back, to question her mother in any shape or form…, it would lead to a belt and countless bruises on her back.

So Lena tried. She tried ever so hard to live up to Lillian’s standards. Because even though Lex and Lionel seemed to genuinely care for her, they always seemed to be too busy with work or school to spend too much time with Lena. But more importantly than that, Lena was just a little girl, who wholeheartedly believed that if she did everything Lillian asked of her, the woman who had taken her in would eventually learn to love her.

On this particularly grey morning, however, Lillian Luthor and her sermons about poise and dignity were the last thing on her mind. Lena was in her room, balled up in a corner with a pillow pressed to her chest. She was shaking with fear, her eyes wide with horror as she looked towards the other end of the room, where her father was trying to calm her down.

“Lena, listen to me.” Lionel pleaded with his hands reaching out reassuringly. “I don’t know how this happened either, but I need you to hear me out, alright?” He took a tentative step forward, only causing Lena to start shaking even more violently. “I’m not here to hurt you, Lena, I promise. But I have seen things. I have seen things, and I know it sounds ludicrous, but I think I saw the future.”

This wasn’t real. This wasn’t actually happening. She was just in shock. He was not here. It was not real. It was _not_ real. 

“Lena!”

Lena froze, not even having realized that she had started rocking back and forward until she stopped, and turned her head back towards Lionel Luthor. The man who had adopted her.

Lionel, her father.

Who had died two days ago.

 

These things didn’t happen in real life. If they did, someone would have surely taken note of it; published an extensive research about it, detailing how the possibility of seeing people after they had perished was a scientifically  irrefutable fact. Lena had never seen or heard of such research. What she _was_ seeing, and hearing, was someone who looked exactly like her late father. Someone who was now slowly making his way towards her, and crouching right in front of where she was sitting. Lena started shaking again.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend, but I need you to try. The things I saw, they… well, she...” The man took a deep breath, before continuing; “I saw Lillian. I don’t know what she’s going to do exactly, but it’s not good. You were… she…” He took a moment, seemingly looking for the right words, once again. “She was… hurting you, Lena. There was a city in chaos and you were in pain, you…”

Lena saw him reaching out for her with his right hand and flinched, burying her face into her pillow. “Please… please stop,” she cried. “I know you’re not real. It’s not real… it’s not real.”  She heard the man letting out a long sigh and when she dared to look up again, he was standing upright and stood a few steps back. There was a hint of resignation on his face, but when he spoke again, it was more determined than before.

“I don’t mean to cause you any more anguish, Lena. But I need you to promise me something.” He looked at her sternly, like he used to do when he caught her running through the halls or when she accidentally cursed. “In my office upstairs, there is a bookcase with a lock on it. Inside there is vital information about new research we’re conducting at LuthorCorp. If the wrong person… if your mother got her hands on it, there’s no telling how much damage she could do. I need you to go in there, take the files, and keep them hidden from your mother.”

Lena was starting to feel sick. She could feel her insides turning at the sight of this supposed spectre, who now apparently was asking her to become a thief. Something about him talking to her about business matters, however, seemed to strike a chord. She looked at  the man of whom she was now about 90% sure that he was a hallucination, and without thinking blurted out the most logical question that came with Lionel talking about LuthorCorp.

“Why would you come to me instead of Lex?”

The man let out a frustrated groan, seemingly tired of the whole situation. “I did go to your brother, but he can’t see me. No one else appears to notice my presence either.” He started pacing back and forward along the wall of her room. “Apparently, for some reason, _you_ are the only person who sees me.”

With that statement, Lena was certain that any kind of validity that science could have provided to this predicament, had just gone out the window. A person with a physical appearance after dying, that could only be seen by one random individual. Right. This explained everything; she was definitely hallucinating. She was going crazy, and it scared the living hell out of her.

She shook her head while holding her hands over her forehead. “No, no … These things don’t happen. I,… you can’t be here right now. I’m not crazy, I’m not…”

“Lena, stop it! We don’t have time for this.”

Lionel had never been one to raise his voice, let alone yell at her, but now he seemed to be losing his patience. “Your mother will be back soon and she _will_ be looking for those files.”

As if a figment of her imagination coming to life wasn’t bad enough, now it was angry with her. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could stand this.

“Just go upstairs, take the files, and I promise I will leave you alone.”

Lena now looked at the imaginary man in front of her. Was this her own mind giving her a way out? Just a temporary fit of madness, caused by the shock of losing someone she cared for? An elaborate fantasy, just so she could feel like she had done her father proud?

She opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to formulate a sentence. “If I take the files … I will stop seeing you?” She looked at the image of her father with a pleading look in her eyes, anxious for this nightmare to be over.

“If you take the files and never show them to your mother, yes.”

If Lena hadn’t been so scared of him, she would have seen the urgency in his eyes starting to mix with sadness. “Then I’ll make sure you never have to look at me again.”

The eleven year old girl, slightly strengthened by the thought of not having to spend her life in an institution, started to get up. She steadied herself against the back wall of her room as she came to a full standing position, with her pillow falling off her lap and onto the floor. She was still shaking like a leaf, but she started moving forward, clenching her jaw to try and prevent herself from throwing up. Keeping her eyes on the apparition of Lionel Luthor all the way, she slowly made her way around her bed and towards her door. Reaching blindly towards the handle, she pressed it down and backed out of her room while Lionel just looked at her encouragingly. Finally allowing herself to turn around, she let out a sigh as the door closed behind her.

Clearly, her mind was trying to compensate for the fact that she didn’t get to say goodbye to her father. And frankly, it was doing so in a very inappropriate manner. But surely this wouldn’t last, right? It couldn’t possibly. Just the thought of being stuck with seeing things that weren’t there for the rest of her life, was enough to send shivers down her spine.

No, if she just did what the hallucination had asked of her, then surely her mind would give it a rest. It would accept Lionel’s death and go back to focusing on things that really mattered, like math equations or how to make her mother proud.

So with all that in mind, Lena made her way through the long corridor and started climbing the main staircase. The Luthor mansion was a very large one, even by mansion standards and even to Lena, who had lived there for most her life. Despite its considerable size, however, Lena had made a point to explore every room when she was little. There were only two rooms she was explicitly forbidden from entering; her parents’ bedroom and Lionel’s office.

Considering the amount of time Lionel spent at LuthorCorp (not only running the company but also mentoring Lex so he could one day take over), you would think he wouldn’t need to work even more from home. As Lena learned very early on, however, you would be wrong. She remembers staring at the door of the office many nights, hoping her father would come say goodnight. Most times it would end with one of the maids walking her back to her room and tucking her in instead. Because Lena knew better than to go inside. She knew better than to go against her mother’s orders.

Now, she was standing in front of the very same door she used to stare at when she was little. Lena took a deep breath and for the first time in her life, she opened the door.

As she stepped inside, she was surprised to find out that it was one of the smaller rooms in the Luthor household. There was a large desk situated approximately  in the middle of the room, while most of the walls were lined with bookcases with glass doors. There was only one window that looked over the back garden and right next to it, a cabinet with what appeared to be extremely expensive liquor.

She walked past the bookcases until she came to one that was smaller than the others. The doors weren’t see-through either, and as Lena leaned down she noticed the lock on them. She took the number based lock in her hands as she considered something. She had never been in this room and yet, a figure generated by her subconscious had been able to tell her that there was a bookcase with a lock in this room. That didn’t make sense, did it?

“The combination…”

Lena jumped at the sound of the voice coming from right behind her. Her head shot back to see that the figment of her imagination was back, looking apologetic.

“Hey, it’s okay… it’s just me”

Lena made an indignant noise, as ‘just me’ really didn’t seem to do the situation justice. She couldn’t help it. She was shaking again.

“The combination is 6-1-7-9-2. You’re doing good, Lena.”

Lena tried to ignore the sting in her chest, at being given some form of praise in the first time for god knows how long. Of course it would only happen in her imagination. She couldn’t even remember being given as much as a nod from Lillian since Lex had left for college.

Lena forced her shaking hands to get the correct numbers onto the lock. Once she did, there was a soft click and the lock slid of the handle. Once again, it struck her that she was not supposed to know the secret combination to a bookcase she shouldn’t know about, inside a room she had never visited. Either her subconscious had picked up on clues in her late father’s words, or the events of the past 30 minutes were all part of one giant hallucination.

The fact that the latter option was probably the most likely, didn’t do anything to lessen Lena’s fears.

“You need to hurry Lena, your mother said she would be back soon” Lionel said while throwing a glance back at the door.

At least that part Lena knew to be true. Lillian hadn’t mentioned where she was going, but she did say she needed to leave for a while and that she wouldn’t be long. Considering that she was standing in a room she was forbidden from entering and she was in the middle of stealing what was probably extremely valuable information, the man who wasn’t actually there was probably right. She opened the doors to the bookcase, to find four binders inside:

_“Atomic Stabilization”_

_“Genetic Manipulation”_

_“Isotope Manipulation”_

_“Isotope Separation”_

 

If someone had told Lena at any other time, that labels on binders could be intimidating, she would have thought it to be laughable. But now she found herself staring at research that was probably ground-breaking and possibly essential to LuthorCorp, and she realized just how wrong this was.

“I can’t do it, this… this isn’t right…” she stammered. Lionel’s concerned expression turned to an angry one at an impressive speed. “I’m doing this for you, Lena! Your mother is dangerous, whatever it is she’s planning, I can’t let our research help her cause.”

Lena shook her head while trying to control her trembling. “She’s … She’s not… She’s strict but she wouldn’t… she would never…” Lena didn’t think that she would ever need to defend her mother, but there was a big difference between being a distant parent and being an evil overlord. The manifestation of her subconscious self, however, seemed to disagree.

“I didn’t believe it either at first, but I’ve heard her talking to people.” Lionel was now stepping closer to her which, again, did not help Lena’s discomfort. “People that no innocent person should be talking to, and the things she says Lena. You don’t need to know the details right now but trust me, you are doing the right thing.”

“No… no… there’s nothing right about stealing, or... or... seeing things that aren’t there… or...” “Enough!” Lionel almost shouted. Lena recoiled at the sound and fell down to her knees, hiding her face in her hands. Lionel was now starting to panic as he glanced towards the door again.

“You said you wanted this to stop, right? That you didn’t want to see me anymore?” Lena didn’t look up from her hands but just nodded in affirmation.

“Well if you don’t take those files I’m not going anywhere, do you hear me? I will be next to you all the time, always there for you to see while no one else can. That’s not what you want, is it?” Lena now slowly lowered her hands and shook her head. “Good, so just take the files to your room for now. You can put them somewhere safer at another time, but please hurry up now, because your mother is about to get home and I don’t think you want her to find you in here anymore than I do.”

Lena took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and looked over at the bookcase. Just one thing. Just this one thing, and it would be over. Or so she hoped…

Lena decided it was worth it.

Moving quickly now, she got up and grabbed the heavy files out of the case. She put them down to close the doors, then went to pick them back up again.

“The lock, Lena. Put the lock back!”

Right. Lena did as her subconscious told her and put the numbers all back to zero, like she found it. She picked up the binders as best she could in her small arms and exited the room.

She had to put the files down again to close the door behind her, and they weren’t getting any lighter. She thought it was nothing short of a miracle that she made it down the stairs in one piece; what with the binders being ridiculously heavy and her struggling to peek past them, so she could see where she was putting down her feet.

Eventually she made it to her room, closing the door behind her with her foot. She finally dropped the heavy load to the ground and slid it under her bed. Great. Now she had committed theft. She put both hands on her bed and hung her head down, letting it all sink in. She would have to find a place to hide them now. Maybe bury them somewhere? No, not anywhere nearby anyway. Their gardener, Mr. Philips, would definitely notice.

She was still considering the problem when she turned around, only to be scared half to death by the imaginary figure of her father. She inhaled sharply and pressed her back to the wall. “You said you would leave,” she said as firmly as she could, given her current state.

“I know,” he said, hesitating for a moment. “I just… wanted to tell you how proud I am.”

Lena couldn’t help but see the irony in that statement. Of course the only time someone would be proud of her was when she committed a crime. What a lovely family she had.

“I also wanted to tell you that, even though I won’t show myself, I will try to look after you.” Lionel tried to smile reassuringly, but it didn’t do much to calm Lena down. “I know I probably won’t be able to do much, being a ghost and all that,” he gave a small chuckle, “but I will watch over you. I promise.” He stood there for a while, just staring at his daughter who was now so terribly afraid of him. “Be safe, Lena.”

With that, he finally turned around and walked away, through the closed door and out of Lena’s life.

Lena slid down the wall and let out a shaky breath. This was it now, right? Whatever meltdown she just experienced was over now. She hadn’t read many books on psychology, but this had all just been conjured up by her mind due to her shock, right? Just one big fantasy that ended with her father telling her how proud he was. Lena lifted up the edge of her blanket to look under her bed. It was almost as if the files were staring back at her, reminding her that whatever she had imagined, the fact she stole from her father’s company was still very real. It would be better to hide them anyway. Even if it was all in her head, even if none of it was real. She would still be in big trouble if anyone found out. If her mother found out…

“Lena!”

The girl shot up like a rocket and snapped her head towards the door. It wasn’t another hallucination, this time. Lillian Luthor was very real and she was looking at her with cold calculating eyes, scanning her from top to bottom, as she always did. The woman let her eyes go over the room, making Lena’s heart almost stop as they wandered over the bed that was currently hiding some incriminating evidence. “You seem to have forgotten two very important things today Lena,” the woman said as her eyes came back to rest on her daughter “can you tell me what they are?”

For a split second, Lena panicked. She met her mother’s icy stare and felt like she could see right through her. Then the girl realised the burning feeling in her eyes, and how they were probably red from crying. How her hair was a mess. The girl was actually relieved that her mother merely wanted the answer she most often demanded from her daughter.

“P-poise and dignity” Lena stated. Lillian made an affirming sound as she looked over the room once more. “Indeed,” she sneered, “see if you can find any of it before you present yourself downstairs,” she gave her daughter one last look, “and make it fast. We’re late.”

She closed the door behind her and Lena had to hold back a whimper. There was no way she could keep the files here. But first she had to get ready. It was not a good idea to keep Lillian Luthor waiting.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

The drive to the church had been quiet. Her mother usually never failed to have a comment at the ready about her appearance, her attitude, or anything really. But as they pulled up to their destination, even Lillian Luthor didn’t seem in the mood to talk. When they entered through the double doors, a hush went over the people in attendance. As they walked past them through the aisle, Lena realised she hardly recognized anyone. She knew Thomas Berkley, who was a business associate of Lionel who had come to their house several times. Then there was Mr. Crane, who had also visited on occasion. She was coming up blank on everybody else though.

They reached the end of the aisle and went up the three steps leading to the casket on display. Lena was just tall enough to see over the edge and was able to see the face of her father, which was now a lot paler than it used to be. She had been devastated when they told her that her father had died. She really had been. Now, however, she only felt relieved that Lionel was lying motionless, like he was supposed to. Relieved that he wasn’t talking her into felonies or walking through closed doors.

Suddenly a loud voice echoed through the church: “Well, well, isn’t this a cheerful gathering…”

Everyone turned their head towards the entrance, where a man had just walked in. Lex Luthor had just made his grand entrance and was walking towards his family. At the sight of her brother, who she hadn’t seen in almost a year, Lena broke down.

“Lex!”

She ran to him, meeting him halfway, paying no attention to the stares of the entire congregation or her mother’s burning gaze, hugged him tightly and started crying. She cried like her father had just died. She cried like a girl who hadn’t seen her brother in way too long and was left alone with a mother she couldn’t seem to please. She cried like a girl who felt alone and, since that morning, felt like she was going crazy.

“It’s okay, Lee. I’m here. I’m here”

He held her tightly and guided her towards the front, where they took a seat. During the entire ceremony, Lena held onto her brother tightly and pressed herself as close to his side as she could. Her father might be gone, and her mother wasn’t perfect. She might be imagining dead people proclaiming vast conspiracy theories. But her big brother was still here. She knew that whatever happened, Lex would always care for her. He wasn’t going anywhere.

 

At least she still had a brother.

 

She still had Lex.

 


	2. Huang Fu

_July 29 th 2015_

 

The streets of Metropolis were very quiet on this particular night. It had been a strange few weeks for the widely recognized city. Of course the rivalry between Superman and Lex Luthor had been common knowledge for quite some time, but no one had imagined the lengths the corporate CEO would go to, in order to get rid of his nemesis. At least not until three weeks ago. When all hell had broken loose.

No one seemed eager to talk about it. The devastation that Lex Luthor had caused in a single night of madness was horrifying, and left one to wonder what other outrageous plans he might have been stewing on. But nobody seemed ready to share their feelings on the matter. Reporters did their job with as much empathy as they could muster, but it was evident that the majority of the city had been left in a state of shock and apathy. It was as if everyone needed time to grieve, even those who hadn’t personally known any of the victims.

Perhaps it was for this reason that at 10 PM on a Wednesday night, the streets were already deserted. As if everyone felt the need to let the city breathe. As if everyone felt the need to take a step back and reconsider the fragility of life, in the wake of a great tragedy. And if there was anyone who could relate to the feeling, it was the young woman in the blue coat who was walking through the empty streets.

She was absolutely furious. She was walking in the direction of her apartment with long strides, as if every step she took needed to convey her anger. She had thought that there was someone who understood her. She believed that out of all the people in this city, there was at least one person that would always take her side. And at first, after Lex had just killed all those people, he had been. He had comforted her and listened to her. He had held her hand on every trip between car and front door, where there was always someone ready to hurl insults and, sometimes, solid objects at the mass murderers’ little sister. But tonight, Jack hadn’t been quite so understanding.

_“It was supposed to be temporary, Lena.” He stood up from his desk and made his way towards her. “You were supposed to fill in for the time being and help with finding a replacement.” Lena was slightly confused at the aggravation in his voice as she didn’t understand where this frustration was coming from. “The board of directors told me that I have proven my worth. That I have done extremely well in these few short weeks and that they have faith in my abilities.” Lena wasn’t sure she was expressing just how much that kind of confidence meant to her. “I thought you’d be happy for me.” Jack’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Happy for you?” He let out a humourless laugh, as he shook his head. “We were supposed to be changing the world together. We built this company together because we wanted to revolutionize medicine, and I know- I know we’ve been struggling to make the nanobots work, but-“_

_“Stop it, Jack. You know I wouldn’t just up and leave because we hit a rough spot.” Jack nodded, clearly still upset, and crossed his  arms. “Okay,” he said, “why then?” Lena gave him a questioning look, as she raised one eyebrow. “Why, what?” she challenged, now showing her own frustration at how this talk seemed to have turned into an interrogation. Jack frowned at her. “Why would you choose to run a company with the Luthor name on it?” Lena’s face fell into disbelief as she sensed where this was going. “Suppose you could somehow turn its reputation around,” he continued “what could you possibly achieve with a company that was built entirely around making the most money possible as opposed to ours, where we have solely dedicated ourselves to saving people’s lives.”_

_Lena’s eyes turned cold. She regarded her business partner and boyfriend with a glare her mother would be proud of. “LuthorCorp is a billion-dollar company with an international reach,” she said slowly, “do you really think that if I was in full control of it, I wouldn’t find a way to spend all that money? That I wouldn’t use all of its resources to do good? Or are you just convinced I will always stand in my brother’s shadow?” Lena swallowed at the memory of her brother. She remembered how just a few weeks ago ‘her brother’s shadow’ was just a mildly frustrating place to be in. Now it was more like a curse she wasn’t sure she could ever escape. “I was going to ask you to come with me.” Jack gave her a confused look. “You want me to dismantle my company, just to join-“_

_“No. No that’s not what I meant.” Lena interjected. “We’re considering moving  LuthorCorp to National City. To get a fresh start, you know. I thought, since our research is the most essential part of this company, and effectively it would just be a matter of finding an appropriate space that-“_

_“No.”_

_It was Jack’s turn to give Lena a cold look now. “No?” Lena questioned, taken aback by the immediate response. “No,” Jack repeated, “I’m not uprooting my company and all its employees, just because you want to become the captain of a sinking ship.” Lena’s heart sank as she realized what this meant. “So…that’s it, then?” Lena said, “you’re asking me to choose between my family’s company and… us?” Lena’s mask was all but gone now, leaving her with just a hurt expression on her face. “I didn’t ask you anything,” Jack countered, “but it sounds to me like you’ve already chosen, haven’t you?” Lena struggled to keep a straight face but the anger was still very visible as she picked up her bag. “I guess there’s nothing left to say, then.” Without giving him a chance to reply, she stormed out of the small office and straight out of the Spherical Industries building._

That’s how Lena ended up wandering the streets of Metropolis in the middle of the night. Usually she had to be driven everywhere, considering her recent unpopularity, but she had expected to drive home with Jack and honestly she felt bad calling Trevor, her driver, at this hour. Besides, no one was around at this time at night anymore. Not since Lex,… Lex. Lena sighed at the memory of her brother. She had seen him change, had seen him become obsessed with Superman. But she never imagined all this. Never thought that he’d disregard all those innocent people, just to enable his misguided crusade. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice  the small man standing in the middle of the sidewalk, just staring at the building across the street with his hands in his pockets. She only noticed him when she almost walked into him, stopping herself just short and inhaling sharply with surprise. The man turned his head and just gave her a curious look.

“I’m sorry, I- I wasn’t paying attention,” she said. She cleared her throat as she went to walk past him. “Excuse me.”

She kept walking, already back to her thoughts about her brother. She didn’t notice the man’s eyes dramatically widening in disbelief, as he gazed after her. She didn’t notice how he too, started walking. Starting to follow her…

 

* * *

 

 

“…and at noon you have a meeting with the investors from Denver. Also, dr. Benson has called several times to get an appointment with you, he says its urgent.” Lena held her head with her left hand while she held her notes in front of her with her right. Seriously, some people really didn’t grasp the magnitude of basically rebuilding a company from the ground up. “Tell dr. Benson that when I find the time, I will go see him down in R&D myself. Until then, just let him know that I am confident in his capability to not blow up our basement.” Lena said firmly, “Is there anything else?”

“Ah, yes... at 1:30 PM those directors you mentioned being ‘superfluous’ are coming by, also shortly after-“

“I’m sorry Stacey, can we go over this later?” Her assistant looked surprised at the interruption of their routine. “Oh... yes, of course” she said, before exiting the office.

Lena had made a promise to herself to put the company first, at least for now, but right now she really couldn’t concentrate. Last night was still weighing heavy on her mind. Maybe she should call him, you know, cooler heads and everything. Frankly she was still mad at him. He had never acted like this; essentially making her feel bad for being a Luthor. But maybe they should still talk. Did people still talk after they broke up? Lena didn’t really know; Jack was the only one she’d ever had a serious relationship with. Honestly that statistic didn’t bother her. If this is what breaking up feels like, she didn’t understand why people were so eager to repeat the process. She was bothered by the sense of being left alone again, though. She had trusted Jack to have her back, just like she had trusted Lex…

She was still lost in her thoughts when she saw an unfamiliar reflection in her window. She turned around to find a man standing in her office. He was smaller than her, asian features, with a few strands of grey hair on his otherwise bald head. His hands were deep in his brown coat, as he was seemingly watching her with intrigue. Lena froze at the sight of the unannounced visitor. It took her a second, but then she recognised him as the man she’d almost bumped into the other night. “How did you get in here?” The man’s expression turned to one of almost complete wonder. “So you _can_ see me.” Lena frowned. How did a confused elderly man get past her assistant, let alone all the security downstairs? “Look sir, I think you must be lost, this-“ At that moment Stacey walked back in.

“I’m sorry Ms. Luthor, the investors just called, apparently they’re going to be at least an hour late.” The assistant came to a stop right next to the man, completely ignoring him. “Should I let them wait until after your-“

“Stacey…”

“Uhm, yes Ms. Luthor?” Her assistant said, looking confused again. “Did you…” Lena decided to choose her words carefully “…did you let someone in here just now?” Stacey seemed to be taken completely off guard by the question. “What? No, of course not,” she looked around the office, obviously concerned, “why, was there someone here?” Lena just looked on petrified, as her assistants eyes wandered over the small man several times without any reaction. The man, looking rather amused, took one hand out of his pocket and wiggled his finger. He then proceeded to step in front of her employee and wave his hands in front of her face, still gaining no reaction whatsoever from the woman. He turned back to face Lena and actually shrugged.

“Did someone break in? Should I call security? I-“

“No, there’s no need.” Lena found her voice just in time before her assistant started panicking. With her worst fears confirmed, Lena was having a hard time staying calm herself. _Poise and dignity, Lena. Poise and dignity!_

“You can tell the investors to wait for me once they get here. That will be all.” Stacey still looked concerned, but she nodded and left the office while glancing back at her boss. Once the door shut, Lena brought her hands to her head and tried not to look at the man in front of her. “Not again, not again… “ She suddenly felt like she was eleven again, pressed in a corner of her room.

“Oh, so this has happened before?”

Lena looked up to find the man still there, actually looking excited. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m just relieved that you know how this works, because I must say I am very confused.” Lena just stayed silent, looking completely shocked. Why was her mind now imagining people she didn’t even know? And now they were acting cheerful too? She hadn’t had an episode like this in 12 years. Not since her father had died and she had stolen valuable information from the company she was now running. Sure, there had been strange occurrences now and then. Like the time she had seen a woman screaming and yelling at her husband in front of a traffic light, while neither he, nor any of the other pedestrians had given her as much as a sideways glance. Or the time she had noted an elderly couple sitting in a restaurant, only for the man to get up and leave, stepping right through the table. On both occasions, she had just kept her eyes averted, steadily ignoring the abnormalities, hoping they would just go away. And every time, it had worked. No imaginary person had made demands or had interacted with her since her father had died. At least until now. For once, she was glad that she was adopted, otherwise she would’ve had to contend with the very real possibility that she shared a crazy gene with her brother.

“I’m so sorry, where are my manners” the elderly man stepped forward and extended his hand, “my name is Huang Fu.” Lena, out of sheer habit, stretched her arm for a handshake, only for her fingers to pass straight through the hand  of the smaller man. Lena immediately retracted her arm and gasped for air. She was not prepared for that. “Oh, right. I forgot about that” the man chuckled, “forgive me, it’s just- it’s been so long since I’ve talked to someone.” Lena tried to steady herself, despite this fresh hallucination standing entirely too close. She could handle this. She handled it at eleven years old, she could handle it now. She just hoped it still worked the same way and that he wouldn’t ask her to do anything illegal. Again.

“What do you want?” Lena asked as coolly as she could. “Oh,” the man looked surprised “well, what do you mean, exactly?.” Lena groaned internally. Of course this wouldn’t  be simple. “Well,” she  started, “if I am imagining you, there must be a reason. Is there something you need?”

For someone who had been materialized from within her own psyche, he sure seemed surprised at the posing of a very logical question. “Well I have to say, that is very nice of you. It’s very rare to have someone offer you help with your problems, especially when you’re in my, uhm… condition.” The man let out another chuckle, as if what was happening right now was actually funny. “But I have to tell you Ms., I am not imaginary. I really am here.” Lena made a sceptical sound, as she looked at the apparition “Really? Then how come you can’t shake my hand, or be seen by anyone that isn’t me?” Lena gave the man a curious look, frustrated that she was now essentially arguing with herself in the middle of her office. God, was she glad she didn’t have those cameras installed after all. The man just laughed again which aggravated Lena even more, before offering his point of view: “Well, that probably has to do with the fact that I’m dead.” He smiled, a little more sadly now. “I thought you said this happened to you before?” Lena could feel a headache coming on. So there was a pattern after all; she imagined people that were dead. Except the first time, it had been a real person. This still didn’t make any sense. “Yes, apparently I am prone to hallucinating after very traumatic experiences.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to control her breathing. “So, what will it be this time?” She gave the man a calculating look. “What will it take to make you go away?”

“Oh, I- I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to be an inconvenience,” he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, “but I think my daughter could really use some help.” Lena grew more and more irritated as ‘inconvenience’ hardly summed it up, but she let the figment of her imagination ramble on. “You see, I was at my own funeral, right after I realised I was dead, when I saw something very disturbing.” The man turned serious now, his cheerful demeanour completely gone. “I saw my daughter, she… she seemed scared, but more importantly, her eyes were so sad. There was no light in them. She was always such a happy kid, you know? But I saw her, all alone in her apartment, the blinds were closed and she was just sitting there and she…she…” the man seemed to struggle to hold back his emotions, “she killed herself.” Lena was looking on in disbelief at the telling of the tale. Out of what dark corners of her mind where these things coming from? The man collected himself before continuing; “But then I was back at the funeral and she was right there, completely fine! I’ve been by her side ever since, and she really seems to be struggling. She recently lost her job at the Daily Planet and I guess me dying didn’t really help…” the man chuckled again, albeit with less humour, “the point is, I think- I mean I can’t be sure, but what I think I saw was-“

“The future?”

Lena had heard that one before. She tried to keep the scepticism in her voice to a minimum, as she didn’t feel she should be disrespectful. Even if she did unwillingly invent all of this. At least this was another pattern, and patterns were at least closely akin to logic.

“Yes… Yes, exactly.” The man had returned to looking at her in awe, as if she was the greatest thing to happen to mankind. As if she needed any more signs that this definitely wasn’t real. “That’s why I’m so glad I found you, I mean if only someone… I mean if _you_ could maybe talk to her… help her see she’s not alone, you know, be a friend?” Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Was this fictional being actually asking her to go and make friends? She had to suppress the urge to laugh out loud, almost wishing he had asked her to steal something again. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude Mr,- Uhm-“

“Huang Fu”

“Right,” she waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, “I really don’t know why I am imagining you, or your tale of woe, but I have a company to run right now.” She tried to give him her best corporate glare, despite the fact she was still slightly scared. “Of course, of course, you must be really busy,” the man said, “perhaps I can come back another time?” Lena was baffled. Was her hallucination actually trying to book an appointment with her? As bizarre as this turn of events was, she had to admit that if she was going to successfully guide LuthorCorp into a new era, it would be very convenient if she could plan for her ‘episodes’ to occur at specific times. This could be called progress, right? “Alright then. Why don’t you come back tomorrow morning at 7:30?” That way, Lena thought, the building would still be mostly empty and she didn’t risk anyone walking in on her while she was talking to herself.

The man smiled widely at her. “That would be great.”

 

* * *

 

 

Lena was making her way towards Lex’s  private elevator(well, it was _her_ elevator now), in order to get herself to the 2 nd floor. It had been a very long morning, starting with the manifestation of her warped imagination, this _Huang Fu_ , arriving precisely at the agreed time. He had spent a good hour giving her a lengthy description of his daughter’s childhood and how she was all grown up now. Lena huffed as she pressed the button to get to the intended floor. She knew it could be worse. She knew that she should be grateful that he wasn’t following her around all the time. Could you imagine going through all those interviews she had lined up downstairs with an old man bumbling about the office? At least that was something she didn’t have to deal with.

Apparently, it wasn’t customary for a CEO to personally conduct job interviews. Lena was adamant, however, that since she was going to spend most of her upcoming time with this individual, she was damn well going to pick her personal assistant herself. Stacey had been doing fine so far, but apparently she was not willing to move to the other side of the country. Lena couldn’t blame her. If she didn’t have a family legacy to restore, or an opportunity to change the world through the work of a disgustingly rich company, she would have been more than happy to stay in Metropolis as well. If she still had Jack, or Lex…

Lena shook her head as she stepped out of the elevator. She had to force herself to think of something else; like what Huang Fu could possibly have left to tell her about his daughter. When she had said that she really needed to start working, he had excitedly proclaimed that he would be back tomorrow, but really, hadn’t he already described everything about his daughter by now? As Lena rounded the corner into the hallway that lead towards the conference room, she had to admit it was quite endearing how the man had gone on and on about every detail concerning his Jessica. How she was meticulous to a fault, how she had a thing for checkered clothing and always wore a gold necklace with a tiny pendant for good luck. How her eyes were a dark brown like her mother’s. He had gone into staggering detail about every little feature of her face, as if he had spent a good amount of time just stu-

Lena’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as soon as she entered the waiting room full of hopeful applicants. Some of them had seen her come in, but most were still staring at their phones or their résumés. Lena’s eyes were fixed on one of them in particular, however. She slowly made her way through the room, coming to a stop in front of the seated woman. This woman, who was looking down at the piece of paper in her hand. This woman, who was  wearing a checkered skirt, a small golden necklace and had every facial feature the supposedly imaginary man had previously mentioned to her. She stood staring at her, aware that a huge monkey wrench had just been thrown into her  explanations for the unnatural occurrences in her life. She had never seen this woman, she was absolutely sure of it. And yet she recognised every detail of her…

She had always adhered to logic in her life. Always looked for the rational explanation behind things. Now there was irrefutable and (ironically) _living_ proof, that there was only one logical explanation left to the people only she could see.

They were telling the truth. They were real.

Lena wasn’t sure she was ready for this. She wasn’t sure she was ready for what all this meant. She realised one thing though; if there was truth to the dead men’s words, maybe there was truth to their nightmares as well…

Lena decided to act.

“Why don’t we start with you, then?”

Jessica shot up from her seat as she realised someone was standing in front of her, and that someone was Lena Luthor. “Ms. Luthor! Yes… of course, I-“

Lena walked past her and into the conference room, as she heard the other woman hurrying after her. She sat down behind the desk, which wasn’t quite as impressive as the one upstairs, and pulled the list of applicants out of her bag. Jessica made her way towards the seat on the other side of the desk as Lena searched for the woman’s form.

“Jessica Fu, I presume?”

Jessica froze as she was about to sit down, her eyes going wide. “It’s… It’s Huang,” she stammered “Jessica Huang, but… everyone calls me Jess.”

 _Shit_. Chinese naming customs. Of course. _Shit._

“Oh, right. Someone must have made a mistake.” Lena tried to play it cool as she pretended to cross something out on the form in front of her. Jess finally took her seat, clearly still rattled from being called by her father’s name.  “So, Jess, tell me about your strengths and weaknesses.” Jess tried to collect herself as she started speaking; “Yes, well… I, uhm…” she closed her eyes seemingly trying to search for the right words. “I’m sorry,” she let out a nervous laugh, “I haven’t done this very often.”

“Didn’t they interview you for your job at the Daily Planet?” Lena asked.

“It was an internship, but yes, they did.”

“In that case, out of the two of us, you’re the one with more experience.” Lena tried to smile reassuringly, as Jess finally seemed to relax a bit. “So, what did this internship entail?”

“Well, I mostly had to fact check the financial articles. Being an intern, however, there also were a lot of coffee runs involved.” The woman smiled wryly. “I didn’t get a chance to actually write anything before-“ she made a vague hand gesture, while looking at her lap.

“Before you were let go?”

Jess just nodded, as she looked up at her again. “Would you mind explaining what happened?” Lena asked. Jess shifted uncomfortably on her seat as she seemed to get nervous again.

“It was actually, uhm… during what happened on July 10th.” Lena’s stomach dropped as somehow Lex, and his madness, had entered this conversation. “Apparently, taking time away from checking numbers to make sure your elderly aunt is still alive, is something Perry White doesn’t condone.” Jess stated bitterly, avoiding Lena’s gaze while touching on the subject of the CEO’s brother.

Lena cleared her throat. “That hardly seems fair” she said, trying to convey her sympathy.

“No, I didn’t think so either. The thing about Mr. White is,” Jess lifted her head, looking directly at Lena “he’s kind of an ass.” Lena gave the applicant a wide grin.

“Good”

Jess frowned in confusion. “Perry White being an ass is a good thing?” Lena couldn’t help but laugh at that. When was the last time she had laughed? Honestly, she couldn’t remember. “No, Jess. It’s a good thing you’re not afraid to speak your mind.” Lena looked proudly at the woman across from her, who just a minute ago had seemed completely caught in the headlights. “I’m assuming you’re aware of this, but LuthorCorp is looking to move our headquarters to National City within a year’s time. Would that be a problem for you?”

“No”

There was no hesitation as Jess responded immediately. “I have a cousin that lives there and to be honest, I… I think it would be good to get away from here.” She looked lost in thought for a moment, as if she was being tormented by unhappy memories. Lena just gave her an understanding look.

“Yes… I know what you mean.” 

The two women looked at each other, sharing an unspoken understanding. “Alright then,” Lena was the first to break the silence, “usually you are required to come in at 8:00, but if you could present yourself at 7:30 on Monday, Stacey can walk you through the most important aspects of the job.” Lena stood up as she started putting her papers back into her bag. Jess’ eyes widened in disbelief, much like her father’s had two days earlier, as she stood up as well. “You mean I- I got the job?” Lena stood upright as she gave the woman a smirk. “Try not to look too happy when you walk out. You might incite a riot.” Jess gave her a wide smile, as she thanked her many times over before walking out, trying to hide her euphoria like her new boss had advised her. Lena paused her movements, looking after her. Was it unprofessional of her to give away a job based on a personal connection? I mean, she definitely could have asked a few more questions. Figure out if she could really handle a job with the crazy hours that came with being her assistant. Well, that’s what trial periods are for, she supposed.

“I think the last time I saw her that happy, I was still alive.”

Lena almost jumped out of her heels with surprise at the sound of the voice coming from behind her. She turned around to find that Jess’s father had appeared again. She put a hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down. “I really don’t know how to thank you, Ms. Luthor” the man said, looking at her with a kind smile. “Don’t mention it” Lena responded. She was looking at the man in front of her, for the first time convinced that what she was seeing was real. It still didn’t make any sense. That she could see spirits, or ghosts, or whatever you wanted to call them. Much less when you considered that, apparently, they didn’t need to even know her. She was seeing a man that wasn’t a relative, friend, or acquaintance. She saw this man when no one else did, despite not having any kind of connection to him in life. Or did she?

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything.”

Lena feared the answer, but knew she had to ask; “Did you,… I mean- Was your death caused by my brother?” She looked at the spirit of Mr. Huang, hoping to god she was wrong. “No,” the man said,  giving her a reassuring look, “I died in a car accident two months ago.” Lena sighed a breath of relief. She knew for a fact that if she would have to contend with the spirits of all the people Lex had killed, she would go insane. It still didn’t make sense, but at least she wasn’t being haunted for things she wasn’t responsible for. It was the first time she felt comforted by something not being logical. “So, what are you going to do now?” Lena asked carefully, “Now that I’ve helped your daughter, I mean? Are you going to go back to just… following her around?” The man looked at her with surprise. “Now that you’ve helped my daughter?” The man gave her a look that made Lena feel rather scrutinised. “Don’t get me wrong Ms. Luthor” he started, as a frown was forming on his face, “I am very grateful that you gave her a job but-“ The man paused, trying to find the right words, “It’s still just a job.” Lena’s eyebrows raised in disbelief. “It is one of the highest paying jobs in the city,” she said carefully, “I would hardly call that ‘just a job’.”

It was the man’s turn now to look incredulous. “Ms. Luthor, with all due respect, if Jessica was desperate enough to- to- take her own life” he stammered, “a job won’t be enough to stop her, no matter how much it pays.” The man wiped his hands on his coat as he was clearly agitated now. “I mean, she needs something more… like I said it’s just a job and if she’s going to feel better then... then-”

“I’ve done all I can-”

“But it won’t be enough! She needs to not be alone, a reason live, a job won’t do that, it is…”

“It’s a reason to get out of bed.”

“She needs a reason to be happy! Having a job is not the same as having a life, it’s just a small part of it. A job is not nearly enough-”

“DON’T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?!”

Mr. Huang looked completely staggered by her outburst. She hadn’t mean to yell. She really hadn’t. But in that short exchange, it had seemed they had somehow stopped talking about Jess, and it had gotten far too personal.

“Don’t you think I know that it’s not normal to live for your job?! Don’t you think I know that it’s a stupidly ineffective way to grieve?! You think I don’t know that normal people have friends, and hobbies and a family to turn to?!” The man’s expression softened as he seemed to understand what was going on. “You think that burying yourself under a mountain of  work is something people do when they want to be happy?! Of course not!!” She took a deep breath after letting out all the anger she didn’t even realise she was holding. She straightened her skirt, before speaking again with a softer voice. “But it’s something to hold onto. Something you can use to survive. Something to turn to when you feel you have nothing left in this world. I know it’s not much, but I can tell you… that it can be enough.” Lena swallowed harshly, not used to getting this emotional. “And besides,” Lena gave the man a solemn look “I will keep an eye on her.”

The man was looking at her like a father would look at his own daughter. He took a deep and shaky breath, before looking to the door Jess had just walked out of. “You will?” He looked at Lena again, with unshed tears in his eyes but with a hopeful expression. She nodded once.

“I promise”

Mr. Huang’s entire posture seemed to relax, as he closed his eyes and nodded to himself. “Good” he said, before opening his eyes and smiling, seemingly glowing. “Thank you.” Lena smiled back,  but faltered when she noticed something. The man really was glowing. And not in the figurative way. There were literally dimmed beams of light coming from the edges of the man’s figure. It looked as if he was glowing from within, the light seeping through his skin and shining with the strength of a small lamp. The glow seemed to get stronger, however, as the light slowly crept from the top of his head and the outside of his arms and legs towards the middle of his stomach, enveloping every part of his body on the way.

“Thank you so much.”

His voice seemed to come from much further then where the man was standing, echoing, as if he were standing in the middle of a canyon. He was now completely covered in the light, leaving only the outline of a small figure. Lena gasped as the light slowly expanded, pulling away from the centre. The figure of the small man slowly disappeared as the light separated into smaller sections, slowly forming what appeared to be small orbs, as any kind of human form was now gone. They floated away from each other and stayed still for a moment. Then the lights gradually grew weaker, like a fire slowly burning out. They kept dimming, and dimming, until they were completely gone, leaving the room completely void of the elderly man who had just been standing there.

 

Huang Fu had just passed on.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

It was fairly early for rush hour, but Metropolis Central Station was already brimming with life. People were walking swiftly, sometimes running, to get to their platform and avoid being late for work. Across the entire building people were moving towards their destination, whether that was a bus, a train or the exit (for those who worked in the city). Everyone seemed in a hurry to get somewhere. Well, almost everyone. One person was standing still as the rest of the passengers hurried along behind her. Lena was staring at a locker she had almost forgotten about. One she had tried very hard to forget. But she was here now, with a key in her hand she had spent an entire weekend looking for. The locker was not like most of the small cubicles found in stations around the country. Here in Metropolis they did things bigger. Here, you could rent a locker similar to the ones you would find in your average high school. If you had the money, that is. It was surprising what you could avoid if you had enough money. Like a small locker. Or inconvenient questions like; ‘ _What’s wrong with a regular locker?’,_ or ‘ _Shouldn’t you be home at this hour?’,_ or ‘ _How old are you, anyway?’_

She looked at the key in her hand, as she remembered the gentleman who had given it to her. He had been thoroughly confused by the little girl who apparently needed a lot of extra storage room, but again, money solves many problems. Lena hadn’t thought she would ever come back here. But with the prospect of moving to a new city very soon and the revelation that information dispensed by the deceased might actually be accurate, she decided she needed the contents of this locker back. She inserted the key and turned it, opening the door to reveal some long-lost memories. Well, now she definitely had a good reason to go see dr. Benson. She could only imagine the face he would make at the sight of so much unutilized research. She sighed as she opened her suitcase and started loading the four large binders into it.

 

They were still heavy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned, as next week we're moving into canon territory.
> 
> I'm still fairly new at all this, so comments and feedback are always appreciated :)


	3. John Corben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Post 2x01

_October 14 th 2016_

 

It was a cool evening in National City. Although summer was definitely over, the cold temperatures hadn’t quite set in yet. The street lights had just lit up, as most people were already home with their families, or, in some cases, with their take-out dinner. There was one citizen who was still at work, however, as she was just getting ready to leave. On the very top floor of the large building on Cordova street, Lena Luthor was about to head out towards her penthouse at a time that, by her standards, was still pretty early. She did have a very long week, after all. In the span of a few short days she had been shot at, had had her renaming ceremony bombed and, let’s not forget, was forced to shoot a man to save a federal agent who, mind you, hadn’t even bothered to thank her. She’d thought she could have a fresh start in a new city, but the shadows of her family’s past in Metropolis wouldn’t seem to go away. Not only did Clark Kent, ace reporter of the Daily Planet, show up at her office but now it turned out that the assassin who had targeted her, had been hired by her brother.

She knew Lex was a lost cause. She had known since he had killed all those people and frankly, she thought it couldn’t get much worse than that. Well, turns out she was wrong. It seemed that Lex was not only paranoid and obsessed with exterminating alien life on earth, now he was actively trying to kill his little sister. The same girl he had held ever so tightly at his father’s funeral. By the end of the week she was thankfully still alive and well, but of course, there had to be one last ominous cherry on the crazy cake. An unpleasant visit she had to endure just this morning.

_Lena smiled as she looked at her phone, while riding the elevator to her office. There were no less than seven texts from her assistant, profusely apologising that she was going to be late due to her bus not showing up. Lena couldn’t believe she had ever doubted her decision to hire Jess, as it almost seemed she was born for this job. She was about to text back that considering  this would be the first time she was late since getting hired, she shouldn’t worry about it, when the elevator doors opened and she noticed someone was already waiting for her. She approached the impeccably dressed, middle-aged woman who was waiting by her assistant’s desk. “I’m sorry, do we have an appointment?”_

_The woman turned to face her and gave her a lopsided smile. “An appointment?” she asked. Lena just nodded, raising her eyebrows, as the woman now gave her a full smile that Lena could only describe as unsettling. “I think you’ll find that I don’t need an appointment, Ms. Luthor. My name is Mona Smith. I’m here because I was sent by the board of directors.” Lena’s eyes grew cold as she knew this wasn’t a good sign. As she had learned over the past year of running LuthorCorp (L-Corp, since two days ago), there were some members of the board who weren’t pleased with the direction the company was taking. Lena suspected that the only reason they had backed her in the first place, was because they thought she shared her brother’s misguided ideals. They weren’t in the majority (thank god), but they still held some power over her, as the woman standing before her definitely proved. “Is my performance under review?” She gave the woman one of her signature glares. “Because if memory serves, our revenue has steadily increased for the past two quarters.” The woman didn’t falter under her steady gaze. She kept looking at her with what appeared to be cool disinterest. “You don’t need to think of this as a review, Ms. Luthor. There are just some members on the board who are concerned about some of your recent… decisions. I’m simply here to put those fears to rest.” Lena was starting to feel her frustration rise up at the vague statement. Put their fears to rest? What was that supposed to mean? Was she here to talk her out of funding the children’s hospital? Scrap her charity projects altogether? Like that was going to happen._ Poise and dignity, Lena. Poise and dignity!

_“Mrs. Smith, I honestly don’t believe I have made any questionable decisions as of late. If the board is concerned about something, they can come talk to me directly. Otherwise I would direct them to our income spreadsheet, which is in a healthier position than at any time in the year before I took over.” She tried to say it with a sense of finality, hoping the woman would take the hint and get out. She instead looked at her in a way that was almost condescending. “As I’m sure  you’re aware, the members of the board have a very tight schedule. I will be speaking to you on their behalf, whether you like it or not.” She made her way around the CEO towards the exit, before turning around. “I will be back soon for another chat, Ms. Luthor. Hopefully you will be more open to talking to me, otherwise the board will be very… displeased.” With that last statement, bordering more on a threat in Lena’s mind, she finally made her exit, rounding the corner towards the stairs._

Lena couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at the memory of the meeting, if you could even call it  that. The way the woman had spoken to her, you would think she was being targeted by the mob. It wasn’t just that, though. In Lena’s young life, she was always taught to question the things and the people around her and whether they were being honest. It had turned out to be a very useful skill as the CEO of a large business, as someone was always trying to slip something by her. It was quite obvious that Mona Smith had something up her sleeve, although she wasn’t quite sure what it was yet. If those board members really didn’t like the direction she was taking the company in, they were obviously trying to get her gone. Maybe Mrs. Smith was supposed to find a questionable source of spending and blow it out of proportion in front of the rest of the board? Maybe she intended to actively sabotage her, later passing it of as incompetence on the CEO’s part? Whatever it was, Lena was going to have to keep her eyes open.

As she closed up her office and headed towards the elevator, she thought how ironic it was that during her interview with Clark Kent she’d suggested the name ‘Smith’ as somehow being less suspicious than hers. Even more ironic, she thought, as she pressed the button and the doors closed, was the presence of the woman who had accompanied Mr. Kent. Sure, the man had apologised for suggesting she had blown up The Venture. But she was good at reading people. She could tell when people were being dishonest and she could tell he was still wary of her. She couldn’t say the same for Kara Danvers, however.

It was something in her eyes. Whether it was when she had told her that she understood her, the concern when they talked at the ceremony, or the complete awe when Lena had suggested she could have fooled her. Kara Danvers had the most honest eyes she had ever seen in her life. Obviously she could never fool her, I mean _come on_ , but somehow she had felt the urge to say it to her anyway. And to suggest they should talk again. She smiled at the memory, as she walked out of the elevator and out of the front of her building. She had barely stepped out of the revolving doors, when her smile faltered and then faded. Because there was someone leaning against the wall, not too far from her, and he was glaring at her. She knew instantly he wasn’t supposed to be there. Despite the fact this hadn’t happened in over a year, she knew that no one else would be able to see him. She knew, because the man who had now started to approach her, was the man she had shot two days ago.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the murderous Luthor heiress herself.”

Lena froze, as she couldn’t help but stare at the man. “What’s the matter, Luthor? Forgot to take a gun with you? Can’t murder any more paladins of justice tonight?” Lena swallowed, as she did actually have a gun hidden in her office. Not that it would do her any good right now. The man came to a stop in front of her, as she was unable to avert her eyes. A sadistic grin started to form on the man’s lips. “Well, talk about good fortune. You can actually see me, can’t you?” Lena’s breath hitched in her throat, as she almost ran past him and towards her car. “Where do you think you’re going, Luthor? Do you think you can outrun me?!” the man shouted after her. She got in as fast as she could and slammed the door shut behind her. “I’m ready to go, Trevor, please step on it.” Her driver gave her a surprised look through the rear view mirror, before turning the ignition. “Yeah… sure thing, Ms. Luthor.” The car pulled out of its space and into traffic, as Lena turned around to look out of the back window. She couldn’t see the ghost of John Corben anymore, as the L-Corp building slowly shrank into the distance. She sighed a breath of relief as she turned back around in her seat.

“Quite a nice ride you have here, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena let out a muffled shout, as she covered her mouth with her hands. John Corben was sitting right next to her in the adjacent passenger seat. “Perhaps an intimate setting is indeed better for a proper haunting” he said, as he smiled a devilish grin. “Is everything alright, Ms. Luthor?” Trevor asked, as he looked at her in his mirror. Lena realised how she was still covering her mouth with her hands and how she probably looked very frightened right now. “Yes, I’m… I’m fine” she said as she lowered her hands “could you… could you please put the partition up, Trevor?” Her driver gave her a concerned look. “Alright” he said, before doing as she asked. Lena took a deep breath before looking back at  the man beside her. “Okay… Okay…” she tried to calm herself down, rather unsuccessfully, “what do you want?” she asked. “If you’re here… if you’re dead, but you’re still here… that means there is something you need” she tried to reason, going of the little experience she had. “So just… If you tell me what it is, I can help you.”

The man seemed stunned for a moment. Then he broke out into bellowing laughter. It was almost maniacal. Lena could only stare in horror at the man who had been hired to kill her. Just when she thought the dead wouldn’t scare her anymore. Just when she thought she would be able to handle it. This guy had to show up. Corben’s laughter slowly died out as he looked at her with an unnerving glint in his eyes. “What I want, Ms. Luthor, is to avenge my death. What I want…” he leaned in uncomfortably close, his face a mere inches from hers as he whispered the rest of his sentence;

“What I want… is for your life to be a living hell.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Ms. Luthor….?” Trevor looked on in surprise as his boss exited the L-Corp building and walked right past him. “I’m sorry, Trevor, I think I’ll walk today” Lena said as she hurriedly crossed the street. “Walk?! But... That’s like 3 miles!” Lena couldn’t hear him anymore, as she had already reached the other side of the street. She was having trouble hearing anyone for the past three days.

She’d thought the weekend had been bad. It had been absolute torture, the way John Corben had not left her alone for a mere second. At first, he had gone on and on about how the world would be  in a much better state, if all the aliens on the planet just went back to where they came from. How the population of earth had no need to be hospitable to the rejects and criminals of the galaxy. How Lex was a hero to mankind and how Lena was a blemish on the Luthor name. She had tried to reason with him. Tried to make him understand there was nothing of significance he could do anymore in his current state. That he would be better off if he would just let her help him. That just hovering around aimlessly couldn’t possibly be what he wanted to do for the rest of his existence. She had given up on this strategy somewhere during Sunday morning. She hadn’t been in any state to argue anymore, as she hadn’t slept all night. The dead man had just continued spewing his anti-alien propaganda. Never resting. Never pausing. Apparently spirits didn’t need any sleep. He would monologue for minutes, in a fairly monotone voice. Then, out of nowhere, he would suddenly shout a few sentences, making Lena flinch in surprise. Sometimes he would stop talking altogether for a few seconds, almost making her believe he’d gotten tired of it all. Then he’d suddenly be right next to her, shouting directly into her ear. By the time Sunday night had come around, Lena had been nearing a nervous breakdown. She’d held on to the thought that Monday would be better. The next morning she would have work to distract herself with. She’d been wrong.

Monday was ten times worse. Corben had kept talking and shouting. He’d shouted at her more times than the days before, often at strategically inconvenient times, making her jump and flinch in the middle of important meetings. By noon, he had picked up the habit of putting himself directly in between Lena and whomever she was talking to, making it impossible for her to have a decent conversation. For the first time in her life, Lena had felt gratitude towards her mother. If it hadn’t been for the years of drilling the poise and dignity into her, she would have cracked within the first hour. Everyone had their limit, though. Lena had never seen her assistant as shocked as today, when she announced she was going home at 3 PM. But she just couldn’t keep risking screwing up her business like this. She’d thought that it would be better to walk home, rather than share an uncomfortably close space with the unfriendly spectre. But this just meant she was now flinching and gasping in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.

“Leaving work early, are we? Well, looks like even _you_ are capable of a good decision every now and then.” Lena gritted her teeth as she kept walking. “Why would you ever think you’d even be half as good as your brother? You thought that you’d just come in and undo everything that man has worked for all these years? You thought no one would come to stop you? You really thought- WATCH OUT!!!”

Lena jumped, as she instinctively looked from left to right. There were just people walking by, some looking at her like she was crazy while Corben was, once again, laughing maniacally. Lena was shaking now. It wasn’t just that she was skittish after being startled every two minutes, or that she was terrified at the thought of this madness never ending. She also hadn’t slept since Thursday night. “Looks like I fooled you again, Ms. Luthor. And you thought you were capable of running a billion-dollar company.” He snickered to himself, as Lena started walking again. “Silly woman.” Lena breathed out of her nose as she gave the man a reply for the first time in over 24 hours. “You won’t break me” she said, not sure whether she was trying to convince Corben, or herself. 

The man laughed loudly at the statement, his howls echoing through the streets yet going completely unnoticed by the inhabitants of National City. He turned to Lena, grinning wildly as he seemed to be having the time of his afterlife. “You seem awfully sure of yourself. I guess we’ll find out whether it’s true, since I don’t have anywhere else to be for a very, _very_ long time.” Lena tried not to shudder at the thought of being haunted for as much as another day. “But perhaps you’re right, Ms. Luthor. Perhaps I shouldn’t take any risks when it comes to such an important mission.”

Suddenly, he jumped up on a nearby bench and extended both his arms to the side, as if he was trying to attract attention to himself. “ATTENTION, ALL GHOSTS OF NATIONAL CITY!! IF YOU HAVE DIED BUT ARE STILL HERE, THIS MESSAGE IS FOR YOU!!” Lena stopped in her tracks, looking at Corben’s shouting figure. Her tired eyes widened in horror as she realised what he was doing. “THERE IS SOMEONE WHO CAN SEE US, EVEN IF NO ONE ELSE CAN!! AND HER NAME…” he looked at her over his shoulder ”…IS LENA LUTHOR!!”

Lena panicked. She started running home as best she could in her high heels.

“DO YOU HEAR ME, GHOSTS?! LENA LUTHOR IS THE ONE YOU’RE LOOKING FOR!! IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO HEAR YOU, FIND LENA LUTHOR!! _FIND LENA LUTHOR!!_ ”

She wasn’t sure how many blocks she ran, before the man’s voice started fading. Before the shouts finally became indistinct and distant. She just knew it took longer than she wanted it to. Assuming dead people could actually see or hear each other, any spirit within earshot of Corben would’ve been able to hear his words. What if there were more? What if there were a lot more? What if they would all be standing on her doorstep very soon? She kept running all the way to her penthouse, barely noticing the temporary absence of the man who had haunted her for the past 72 hours. Of course, his absence wouldn’t last long. She came home, heaving and sighing, not used to all this exercise. Her sleep-deprived state wasn’t doing her any favours, either. She struggled to keep her hand still as it was shaking violently while she turned the key in the lock and opened her door. As she slammed the door shut and dropped her purse to the floor, she immediately made a beeline for her liquor cabinet. Her hands were still shaking, which is why it took her some effort to poor herself some of her most expensive scotch. She took a quick gulp as she steadied herself on the counter of her kitchen. She knew this wasn’t a solution. If this became a habit, she would surely be an alcoholic by the end of the week. But she had to find some way to cope. And right now, this was all she could think of.

“WHAT DO WE DO WITH A LITTLE LUTHOR, WHAT DO WE DO WITH A LITTLE LUTHOR…”

Lena snapped around, her glass shattering all over the floor as the scotch went spilling.

“..WHAT DO WE DO WITH A LITTLE LUTHOR, EARLY IN THE MORNING?!”

Corben had reappeared and was wildly singing to the tune of ‘Drunken Sailor’. Unfortunately, he had made some small adjustments to the lyrics. Lena sank to the floor in the middle of all the broken glass and spilled liquor. She pressed her hands to her forehead, completely defenceless against the constant assault on her senses.

“SLIT HER THROAT WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, SLIT HER THROAT WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, SLIT HER THROAT WITH A RUSTY RAZOR, EARLY IN THE MORNING!”

Lena couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. There was no way she could make this stop. There was no way she would be able to keep her company and make a name outside of her family. She wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore. At all.

“MAKE THE BITCH FALL OFF A ROOFTOP, MAKE THE BITCH FALL OFF A ROOFTOP, MAKE THE BITCH FALL OFF A ROOFTOP, EARLY IN THE MORNING!”

Lena felt exposed and humiliated, but the tears just kept on coming. How many more ghosts would show up after today’s stunt? How many more voices would she hear, never giving her a moment’s rest? She stared at the pieces of glass that were scattered in front of her, every one of them as broken as her dreams. As broken as any plans she might have had for her future. The spirit of John Corben momentarily stopped his torturous chant and stepped towards her. He crouched beside her while looking at the exact same spot Lena was staring at. Then he turned towards her and almost whispered, as he slowly hissed the next verse into her ear.

_“Cut her wrists and let her bleed out…”_

Lena’s hands balled into fists as her fingers dug into her hair…

_“Cut her wrists and let her bleed out…”_

She shut her eyes as tightly as she could, trying to will the thoughts away…

_“Cut her wrists and let her bleed out, early in the mo-”_

The verse was cut off as Corben suddenly gasped for air. Lena opened her eyes and looked to the side to see what he was trying to do now. She found the man standing up with a look of shock on his face. “What… what is…” he started weakly, before his entire frame suddenly became see-through for a second. It was almost as if he had shortly turned into human-shaped static, before going back to how he was. He gasped for air again as Lena could only look on. He was touching his chest and abdomen, seemingly checking if he was still there.

Then it happened again.

Lena sat up straighter, having no idea what could possibly be going on. The man returned to his solid state, looking wildly from left to right. He looked absolutely bewildered as he glanced down towards his body. “What did you…”

Then, out of nowhere, his entire essence seemed to be sucked towards the middle of his body. It looked like an implosion. Or like the screen of an old-fashioned TV set when you turned it off. He got sucked in and just like that… he was gone.

Lena just kept staring for a while at the exact point where the man had just disappeared. She looked around at the rest of her living room, almost expecting him to pop up somewhere else, like he had done so often over the course of the past few days. What had just happened? Was he really gone? Or was this some elaborate trick? As the minutes ticked away, Lena still not moving from her spot on the floor, the silence suddenly felt oppressing. This was the most peace she had gotten since Corben had appeared. She should probably be happy. She should take this opportunity to finally get some sleep. It seemed like he was gone after all. But she couldn’t be sure, could she? Every time these people appeared to her, they seemed to find a new way to mess with logic and reason. Seeing dead people wasn’t enough, oh no. Now there had to be even bigger forces at work that controlled these spirits against their will. Lena couldn’t stand the uncertainty. She couldn’t stand the lack of logic, but more importantly… the lack of control she had over her own life.

She rested her head on her arms and started crying again. This time, the sobs rocked her entire body as she didn’t try to hold back. She wouldn’t be able to trust anyone anymore. She wouldn’t be able to look anyone she saw on the street in the eye, for fear of them being one of those spirits. She was once again reminded that she didn’t have anyone to have her back anymore. Not Jack, not Lex… no one. She was all alone…

 

Or so she thought.

 

She didn’t realise that at that exact moment her assistant was getting of a bus, feeling very uneasy about what she was doing. It was definitely not normal to go and visit your boss at their house. It was something invasive and very close to stalking. Jess knew she had to go, however, because she had never seen Ms. Luthor so distressed. She had been amazed by the woman many times over as she faced endless days of meetings and calls, even somehow finding the time to go downstairs to aid with technical research herself. But she’d never seen her in such a state as today and she _certainly_ had never seen her go home at _3 PM!!_

When you worked as closely as she and Ms. Luthor did, you got to know each other and Jess knew that her boss was _not_ alright. She walked up to the impressive penthouse as she looked at the upper floors. This was highly unprofessional. Then again, she thought, so was dismissing an entire room of applicants in favour of someone with very little job experience. Or hiring said person’s cousin when finding out they were looking for a job. Jess gathered up her courage as she raised her arm…

And pressed the doorbell.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lena was rubbing her temples while riding the elevator to her office. She probably shouldn’t have consumed an entire bottle of overpriced scotch last night. Although she didn’t reach for her liquor all that often, she considered the ending of an extended period of haunting a valid cause for celebration. If you considered getting drunk alone in your house and crying yourself to sleep a celebration, that is. For all she knew, Corben could pop up again as soon she entered her office. He could be waiting behind any corner, ready to continue yelling and screaming at her all over again. Lena had decided, however, that she would use the peace she was granted for as long as it would last. She wouldn’t let the dead scare her away from living her life. As the elevator doors opened, she was glad to find everything as it should be. Everything except her throbbing migraine, that is. She made her way towards her office before stopping halfway, noticing that something was actually not as it should be. Jess was sitting behind her desk looking down at her lap. Usually, she would be waiting for the young CEO to come in, immediately getting up from her desk to give her the run-down on her schedule. Lena carefully approached the woman, who shifted nervously in her seat.

“Ms. Luthor, I…” Jess swallowed harshly while still refusing to look at her “I’m- I’m really sorry bout yesterday.”

“Jess-”

“I know I shouldn’t have gone to your house, but…”

“Jess, listen-”

“…but you just seemed kind of… off… and you never leave early-”

“ _Jess_!”

Her assistant halted her rambling and looked up, finally meeting the young Luthor’s eyes. Lena hesitated, but decided that she needed to do this. “Thank you…” she said softly, “for… for checking up on me. I…” Lena swallowed feeling slightly uncomfortable, but still wanting to express her gratitude “…I needed that.” Jess was looking at her with an incredulous look, before her bottom lip slightly quivered and she looked down again.

 

“Anytime…”

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_Everyone who was passing through Cordova street was in a hurry. No one appeared to have a moment to spare on this Friday morning. No one had time to stop and appreciate the relatively  pleasant weather for the time of year. No one stopped in their tracks. No one paused. No one but the woman who had just walked out of the L-Corp building._

_She stopped and looked over her shoulder, gazing at the impressive structure. Her meeting with Lena Luthor had been an interesting one. The CEO had been guarded, that much was obvious, but after all, that was to be expected. She obviously wasn’t entirely trustful of the board, either. That was something to keep in mind. She was definitely looking forward to their next conversation. Mona Smith smiled to herself as she turned around and resumed walking._

_All was going according to plan._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena suffering is not fun, and I'm really sorry :(
> 
> Next week: An important character joins our cast


	4. Rachel Sturridge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post 2x03

National City Park was a popular venue during lunch hours. Businessmen and -women, interns, clerks, police officers and any other occupation that you could imagine was represented during this time of day. When winter reared its head, things would certainly quiet down but for now, the park was still brimming with life, full of people either enjoying their meal breaks or eating as fast as they could with one eye on their watch. During this particular time of the day it was usually hard to find a peaceful and secluded place, since half the city flocked to the same destination. Lena had however successfully managed to secure a bench all to herself, somewhere surrounded by tall bushes so that few people would see her. She was less focused on the salad in her lap and more on the thoughts running through her head.

When she had seen Supergirl and her cousin on the news, fighting a kryptonite-powered human, she hadn’t been sure how to feel about it. The sudden disappearance of John Corben’s maddening presence now made some semblance of sense, but it raised a whole lot of other questions. Who would willingly infect humans with kryptonite? What moron harnessed the power to revive the dead, only to waste it on a crusade against the Supers? If Lex wasn’t safely behind bars, he would have been the prime suspect. Lena poked at her salad with her plastic fork while feeling very conflicted, not only about this mysterious entity who had unwittingly saved her from being haunted, but also about the fact that this whole ordeal seemed to have had more of an effect on her than she would have hoped. Right after Corben’s disappearance she had dismissed Jess at her door, claiming she was fine. She thought that would have been it. When she’d shown up to work the next morning and had thanked her assistant for checking up on her, she definitely thought that _that_ would be as much emotion she would display in public for the rest of the year. Or the decade. Of course, she was wrong. Because little over a week later Kara Danvers, junior reporter, showed up at her office.

It was a complete mystery to her. She’d thought that she was fine, that the four days in hell with a hostile ghost had been gone and forgotten. Clearly she must have still been affected. Not only did she show the young reporter a prototype that wasn’t scheduled to be announced for another month, but she then invited the same reporter back after the article was published just to thank her. She couldn’t blame this one just on Kara’s honest blue eyes, could she? No, the encounter with Corben clearly still had her shaken up. I mean, why else would she go and talk about how it felt when Lex had been locked up even _after_ the woman had admitted she would have written a ‘scathing review’ on her device? This was definitely not normal.

She dumped the remainder of her salad in the trash can next to the bench, not feeling hungry anymore, and stared at the small piece of the lake that she could see through the thick bushes on the other side of the small gravel path. She didn’t notice a brown-haired woman trying to get her attention until she exaggeratedly leaned into her eyesight. “Um, excuse me?” Lena blinked as she focused on the woman in front of her. She looked like she was in her late thirties. She was wearing running shoes, comfortable pants and… a Christmas sweater? “You’re Lena Luthor, aren’t you?”

Lena let out a small sigh, trying to contain her exasperation. How did the crazy ones always manage to find her? “Yes, I am.” She looked the woman up and down before holding her gaze. “And you are…?”

“Oh, yes… I’m Rachel. Rachel Sturridge.” She gave an awkward little wave while still standing a few feet away from the bench Lena was sitting on. “I’m sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I really need to ask you for a favour.” Lena’s eyebrows rose at the woman’s statement. “A favour?” she said in an incredulous voice. The other woman, this _Rachel_ , had the decency to look apologetic. “Ms. Sturridge, my company owns _and_ helps many charitable organizations but if you’re not able to get the help you need from them, I’m sure you’ll understand that coming directly to the CEO is still very inappropriate.”

“Oh, no, no … I understand that it usually would be,” the woman stepped closer and sat down next to Lena, who was starting to feel rather uncomfortable, “but I can’t exactly go to one of your organisations.” She said it with a smile, as if this somehow explained everything. Lena was pretty annoyed by now but she still gave the woman a questioning look. “And why is that, Ms. Sturridge?” Rachel shifted on the bench a little as her smile disappeared. “Well, I don’t mean to unnerve you or anything Ms. Luthor, but um…” she leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, earning herself a disapproving look “I’m sort of… dead.” Lena immediately sat up in her seat and closed her eyes as her head snapped forward, away from the woman next to her. She inhaled sharply through her nose as the days with John Corben flashed before her. No sleep, no rest, no peace, no work, no end to the torture, no legacy of her own, no more-

“Okay, okay… Ms. Luthor, calm down” Rachel said with concern in her voice, “I know you kind of had a bad experience with ghosts before, but I can assure you-“ Lena snapped her head back to look at the woman next to her, her eyes now wide open. “How do you know about that?”

“Ah… yes, well…” Rachel cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, “I saw that man yelling about how Lena Luthor could see ghosts. And I saw you looking right at him and then running away.” The woman tried to give her an understanding smile, but Lena couldn’t say she felt all that comforted. She took another calming breath before looking straight ahead again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, immediately putting it to her ear. Rachel looked thoroughly confused. “Do you… are you calling someone, or-”

“No,” Lena said, with ice in her voice, “I’m just a woman having a conversation on the phone, as opposed to a woman sitting alone and talking to herself.” She quickly glanced around to see that the spot was still mostly quiet, but the chatter of people in the distance was still audible. “Oooh, right.” Rachel gave a small chuckle. “That’s very clever. I was never any good at being sneaky, everyone could always tell when I was lying. Especially my sister. She’s actually the reason I need to talk to you. I would’ve liked to come to you sooner, but you were clearly still upset about what happened with that man and-”

“Ms. Sturridge…” Lena said, ending the woman’s rambling.

“Oh, please, call me Rachel.”

Lena sighed, as she squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. “Fine, _Rachel_. I will help you, if for no other reason that I can’t have a ghost following me around indefinitely, but-” she looked at the spectre as sternly as she could, trying to remove  any trace of anxiety from her face “you will do things on my terms. I still have a company to run and forgive my bluntness, but my life isn’t any less important than your death. Besides, if you drive me mad by never leaving me alone I won’t be much help to you anyway.” Lena tried not to shudder at the thought of that last scenario, as she had now laid out her offer with the negotiating skills that came with growing up as a Luthor. “Yes, absolutely” Rachel said with nothing but gratitude in her voice “Anything you say.”

Lena gave her a small nod before averting her eyes again. “Then come to my office at 6 PM  today. It’s on the top floor of the L-Corp building, do you know where it is?” She caught Rachel nodding out of the side of her eye. “Good. We’ll talk then and I will see what I might be able to do for you.” With that, Lena got up and put her phone away as she started walking back to her office. She still managed to hear  the distant ‘thank you’ that Rachel shouted after her. She took another deep breath as she felt a little more in control now.

This was going to be a long day.

 

* * *

 

 

Lena interrupted her typing for a moment to look at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost time. She sighed as she saved and closed the speech she had been writing. She couldn’t say she was looking forward to this. Whatever this ghost wanted, it wasn’t going to do her any favours. She felt bad for being so calculating but she still believed what she’d told Rachel earlier to be true. She had a company to run. She had a life of her own and it wasn’t fair to ask her to put it on hold to help someone who, let’s face it, was already dead anyway. She had considered if it would be possible to dismiss this spirit without upsetting it. But then she was reminded of Jess, and the state she might be in right now if she hadn’t offered a helping hand. Lena opened the large doors of her office to reveal her assistant, still diligently at work. She looked up at her boss, who was standing in the doorway, and sprang into action. 

“Ms. Luthor!” She shot up out of her chair and rounded her desk at a speed that would impress even National City’s caped hero. “Was there something you needed?” She had already grabbed a pen and a notepad.

Lena gave her a fond smile. “Actually there is, Jess.” Her assistant nodded and held her pen at the ready. “I need you to go home.” Jess looked up from her notepad with confusion on her face. “But… it’s 6 PM” she said. Lena just nodded. Jess squinted her eyes “Did I… do something wrong?” Lena couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Jess, how long have you worked for me now?” Jess lowered her pad but kept looking at Lena. “One year, three months and a few days, should I… look it up for you?” she asked, clearly still confused. “No, that won’t be necessary” Lena said, still smiling. “My point is that after all that time, you deserve to go home at a reasonable hour at least once.” She tilted her head as she regarded her assistant. “This isn’t a punishment, Jess, it’s a reward. For always being there when you’re needed. Even when it’s not within the job description.”

Jess’ eyebrows shot up as her confusion turned to surprise. “Oh.” She looked sheepishly at the pad still in her hand and put it away. “Alright, then I’ll just…” She quickly started gathering her things and shoving them in her bag as Lena just watched. “Well, um, thank you and…” Jess hesitated for a moment with her bag over her shoulder and some papers sticking out. “Ms. Luthor?”

“Yes?”

Jess hitched her bag higher up her shoulder before looking at Lena. “Are you… are you alright?”

Lena smiled at her assistant. Not because she was, in fact, alright. Being chronically overworked, having assassins after you that were sent by your own brother and being occasionally haunted by ghosts was not the definition of ‘alright’, in her book. She smiled because apart from last week, when Jess had repeatedly demanded to know if she was alright before she would leave the premises of her penthouse, she couldn’t even remember the last time someone had asked her that question. “I’ll be fine, Jess.”

“Alright… good. Goodnight then, Ms. Luthor.” She picked up a large folder from her desk and headed towards the elevator. Lena remained in the doorway of her office and watched as Jess got in the elevator and pushed the button to go all the way down as the doors closed. Lena felt a little bad that it had taken a supernatural incident for her to send her assistant home early but hey, at least she did it, right?

“She sure looked worried about you.”

Lena’s heart leaped in her chest as she turned around to find Rachel Sturridge behind her. She huffed out in both anger and relief. “Is it necessary to sneak up on me?” she asked as she could still feel her heart hammering inside her chest. “Sorry, but um… I thought suddenly jumping out in front of you wouldn’t really be a good idea either” Rachel said while giving her a shrug. Lena was still looking at her slightly annoyed, but she had to admit it was a fair point. “Well, never mind. Why don’t we step inside so we can-”

“Ms. Luthor!”

Lena turned on the spot at the sound of the voice echoing through the corridor. She was just in time to see Mona Smith round the corner and walk towards her with a determined stride. She closed her eyes for a second. Great, just what was missing from this exquisite day. She opened her eyes to greet the unannounced visitor. “Mrs. Smith, still not intent on booking an appointment, I see” she said with as much disdain she could afford while still maintaining some form of professionalism. The older woman came to a stop in front of her and gave her a look so condescending, it would have made Lillian proud. “I believe I made that clear during our last meeting, do try and keep up.” She gave her a smirk that made Lena boil up with anger, but she kept her poise. And her dignity. “Now, if you don’t mind” the woman began as she looked past Lena and into her office “there are some things that I need to… review with you. I see you’re not busy at the moment, so if we could get on with it?”

Lena gritted her teeth, as this woman wouldn’t begin to understand what a busy day in her life looked like. Nonetheless, she still moved to the side and motioned for the woman to come in. As Mrs. Smith entered her office, she followed her inside only to notice that Rachel Sturridge was still there. “Sheesh, what’s _her_ problem?” Lena looked at her with wide eyes, trying to admonish her, but she seemed too busy looking the corporate representative up and down to notice. “I must say it’s quite an honour to finally see the inside of the Luthor lair” Mrs. Smith said with a voice that was dripping with sarcasm as she turned to take a better look around the office. Lena took the opportunity to give Rachel a stern look and point a finger towards the door, silently ordering her to leave. “Oh, right. I’m sorry” she said, finally catching on. She quickly made her way out of the doors, which were still open. “I’ll just uh, wait out here…”

Lena watched the ghost step out of her office and then turned back to face the (other) unwanted guest, stepping closer to where the woman was standing near the visitor’s side of the desk. “I’m sure my interior design is fascinating but I have more matters to attend to, so if you could get to the point of this meeting right away, that would be very helpful.” Mrs. Smith turned around to face Lena, her eyes going cold and now void of any amusement. “Very well, then. I’m here to ask you about your alien detection device.” Lena struggled to keep a straight face, as this was probably the last subject she thought she would be questioned about. By this woman, at least. “What about it?” she asked coldly. “There is some concern that this might scare off some clients who are,  shall we say, on friendly terms with alien visitors” the older woman said. “It definitely doesn’t seem coherent with your previous efforts to distance yourself from your brother and his… perceptions.” Lena was at a loss right now. Any of the board members who would’ve been disgruntled enough to send this woman, would have been the ones who shared her brother’s views, she was sure of it. And even the ones that didn’t, were mostly just concerned with lining their pockets. “The alien detection device is expected to be a great financial success” Lena started, while eyeing the other woman warily, “I would think that would be the board’s main concern, since they clearly never opposed anything else for moral reasons.” She bitterly thought of Lex and whether he would be where he was now, if someone had put this much effort into keeping him in check.

Mrs. Smith gave Lena that condescending smirk, forcing her to call on her self-control again. “No one is opposing you Ms. Luthor, I am simply inquiring.” She strode past the desk as she took a look at the plumerias on the table. “Aren’t you worried that the public might condemn you, and the company, now that you’ve made this project common knowledge?” Lena let out a bitter laugh. “Mrs. Smith, I don’t know what city you live in, but everybody already condemns me, even if it’s just for my last name.” Well, almost everybody, she thought. She remembered Kara and how they had talked like they’d known each other forever, despite the fact she wasn’t a fan of her device. _Focus, Lena. Focus!_

“Besides, if you’ve read the article that revealed the project, you’ll know that it wasn’t condemned at all. It was evenly and fairly reviewed.” She couldn’t help but feel grateful to whomever Kara’s boss was for that one. “This is not a weapon or a dangerous chemical, it is merely a test of recognition. Furthermore, this is a long-term project that won’t be on the market for at least another year.” Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows, looking at her with a hint of surprise although she still looked mostly condescending. “What could possibly be taking the brilliant Lena Luthor so long?” God, she hated this woman. She was all over the place with her messages, one moment seeming to reject the new direction the company was taking, then coming in here and questioning her about a project that, by all standards, should have made every last board member happy. And of course, she did all of it with a demeanour that rivalled her mother’s. “The prototype malfunctioned,” Lena said through gritted teeth, “somehow the circuits overheated.” The smirk reappeared on the woman’s face. Lena wondered how much she would have to pay Supergirl, for her to throw the woman into outer space. “We’re also still working on a plan to regulate the sales of the device.”

The woman’s smirk disappeared as she was now eyeing Lena intently. “And what would this regulation consist of, exactly?” Lena noticed the woman’s change and made a mental note to remember that this detail was apparently important to her. “It would be a guideline all our subsidiaries would have to follow, preventing them from selling the device for private use.” Lena kept looking at the woman carefully to gauge her reaction. “Our only customers would be hospitals and government organisations, such as the police department or even city halls, to prevent alien-related identification fraud.” Mrs. Smith showed no reaction whatsoever but just kept looking at Lena intently, as if she was trying to peer right through her. Lena just gave her a questioning look, as the silence extended. “I think that will be all for today.” The older woman suddenly broke eye contact and moved towards the door. “That’s it?” Lena asked, genuinely surprised. Mrs. Smith turned back around near the door and showed that her condescending smirk had returned. “Yes, for now. I will see you again soon Ms. Luthor, it was definitely… interesting.” She flashed a sinister smile before walking out of the office, prompting Lena to slump into one of the chairs designed for the visitors.

She was supposed to be a genius. She had set records for almost everything at MIT, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure this woman out. There was no certainty with her, other than the fact she couldn’t be trusted. Not that she really trusted anyone anymore. Rachel Sturridge cautiously poked her head inside before stepping in. “What was all that about?” she asked as she walked towards the desk and sat in the other guest chair next to the CEO. “I’m not entirely sure yet” Lena responded. She had to start planning ahead when it came to this woman, the problem was that she felt like she was feeling around in the dark. She let out a long sigh as she decided to come back to the problem later. One headache at the time.

She looked at the ghost next to her, who didn’t seem as intimidating compared to the mystery that had just walked out the door. Perhaps her sweater with reindeer on it wasn’t exactly helping either. “If you don’t mind me asking,” Lena started carefully, “when did you die?” Rachel looked at her with a sad smile. “About three weeks ago.” Lena gave her a surprised look as she glanced down at her sweater. “Do you always wear Christmas themed clothing in October?” Rachel looked down at her own sweater, before seemingly cheering up. “Oh, that. Ha, no, Christmas is just my favourite time of the year. I always used to wear this during the holidays, I guess… maybe that’s why I’m wearing it now.” Lena hummed, glad that she wasn’t the only one who had to guess what was going on most of the time. “I mean, thank god you don’t end up wearing what you die in. Can you imagine walking around all day in one of those skimpy hospital gowns? Ughh…” Lena frowned as her expression turned more serious. “You were sick?” she asked. Rachel nodded with a thoughtful expression. “Yep. I had a tumour growing on my spinal cord. They were going to try and take it out but…” the woman fell quiet for a moment before continuing, “I didn’t make it out of the operating room.” Lena nodded in understanding as they sat in silence for a moment.

Eventually Lena cleared he throat and returned her focus to the problem at hand. “So, you… needed help with something?" Rachel sat up straight as she seemed to come back to life (figuratively, of course). “Yes. Yes I do. You see, before being diagnosed I didn’t actually, you know, have a will.” She laughed nervously while throwing up her hands. “I mean, who thinks of that stuff, right?” Lena felt slightly self-conscious, as the safe hidden in the wall behind her actually did hold her official will. Considering the efforts her brother (and others) were putting forward to get rid of her, she had felt the need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. Which is why the document in the safe detailed how most of her savings would be split up among charities and (since a modification a few months ago) how a considerable amount would be left to a certain Jessica Huang.

“So after I died, everything I owned was left to my husband.” Lena frowned as the woman in front of her seemed to turn bitter. “And that’s… a bad thing?” she asked carefully. Rachel nodded with a frown firmly in place. “We weren’t together anymore, we…” she let out a sigh and readjusted in her seat, “we separated almost a year ago, but we never actually got divorced. First he said he wouldn’t sign the papers, saying that we would regret it, that it was just a slump and it wouldn’t last. Then I lost my job and I couldn’t actually, you know, afford getting divorced, especially if I was going to need lawyers just for him to sign the damn papers.” She let out a humourless laugh and shook her head. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad we never had kids. Just more people that would’ve had to go through this mess.” She sighed again as her anger seemed to make way for sadness. “The point is that, after finding out about the tumour, I actually did write something down. You know, about who would get all my things in case I wouldn’t survive. Basically it just said that everything should go to my little sister.” Rachel frowned for a moment as she considered something. “I mean, you don’t need a lawyer or anything for that, right? If I wrote it that still counts?” She looked at Lena expectantly.

“Did you date it and put a signature under it?”

Rachel perked up, seemingly proud of herself. “Yes! I did!” Lena nodded. “Then it is completely valid. If anyone has any doubts about its authenticity, they would just check the signature and probably compare the handwriting to something else you’ve written. That should be proof enough that it is in fact yours.” Rachel let out a sigh of relief “Good. That’s good.” Lena was confused, however. “So how come they left your belongings to your husband, despite your wishes?” Rachel turned serious again. “Well, they never actually found it” she said bitterly. “I did tell my sister about it but, you know, I didn’t want to go into detail and force her to think about me possibly dying.” The woman shifted in her seat again. “So I… kind of forgot to mention where I put it.” Rachel looked a little sheepish before looking back up at Lena. “So basically, we just need to let my sister know where it is and everything will be fine!” She smiled now, as if everything was going to be a cakewalk but Lena had just thought of something and it  was bugging her. “So…” she said carefully “you didn’t… see something?” Rachel gave her a confused look. “See something?” Lena cleared her throat, feeling silly about what she was going to ask. “You didn’t… see the future?” Rachel snorted loudly and brought a hand up to cover her mouth. “Ms. Luthor,” she said, clearly trying to contain her amusement “I’m just a ghost, I’m not a fortune teller.”

“Right, right.” Lena gave the woman a moment to get her giggles under control. She was surprised at how annoyed she was about this latest piece of information. Of course it would turn out that now only _some_ dead people developed the power of clairvoyance. Because who needed logic, right? Who needed things to make sense anyway? She stood up from her chair as she started to pace back and forward, considering what needed to be done. “So I assume your sister went looking for the will?” she asked as Rachel also got up from her seat. “Yes, she did. But she didn’t manage to find it” she said as she slightly shrugged her shoulders. “It definitely wasn’t a good idea to get a nightstand with a secret compartment. At the time it just seemed really cool, you know?”

“Hmm…” Lena just hummed as she hadn’t quite figured out how to solve the woman’s problem. “So it’s pretty easy, right?” Rachel said while smiling hopefully. “You just need to go and see my sister and tell her where-”

“No!”

Rachel looked stunned for a moment. “But…”

“Like I said before,” Lena started with a warning tone in her voice “we are doing things on my terms. I’m not going around trying to convince people I can talk to the dead. The last thing L-Corp needs is for people to start questioning my sanity.” Rachel looked disappointed but just nodded in defeat as she looked at her feet. “I understand Ms. Luthor but,” she tugged nervously at her sweater, looking up at the CEO again “I don’t have much time left. Dennis, my husband, he will come and collect my things in a few days and he’ll probably take the nightstand, too. Maybe he’ll even sell it!” The woman was looking at Lena with a pleading look in her eyes. “Maybe we could’ve come up with something else if we had more time, I mean…” she laughed a little nervously, clearly still tense “I wanted to come to you sooner, but it didn’t seem right. We decided to give you some time after that horrible man tormented you and-”

“What did you say?”

Lena had stopped pacing and was now completely petrified as she looked at the ghost in front of her. She hoped to god she had just heard her wrong. “Who’s _‘we’…_?!”

Rachel looked like a kid who was caught while trying to steal candy. She obviously didn’t mean to let that slip. “That, um…” she hung her head down while looking embarrassed, “that would be me and… um… the others who… heard that man shout about you and…. you know, seeing ghosts-”

“Others…”

Lena could feel her heartbeat pick up. She’d hoped that this would be a one-time thing. That she could go back to ignoring these people like she had done the years before, when she still believed them to be hallucinations. “How many?” she asked coldly while giving the woman her best CEO glare. “Oh! It’s just three… not counting me, that is.” Rachel smiled nervously. “There’s Rafael, Jimmy and of course Sam. Don’t worry though,” she said as she held her hands out reassuringly, “like I said, we decided to give you some space after the whole… haunting thing. We also didn’t want to overwhelm you, so we agreed that we should come to you one at a time.” Lena made an indignant noise. Well, great. Now she had a parade of dead people just queued up to come and disrupt her life. “We actually thought Sam should go first, but with my thing kind of being an emergency-”

“Alright, alright..” Lena interrupted the woman by holding up her hand before rubbing her temple. She could deal with these other spectres when the time came, but for now she could only do something for the woman in front of her. She could sense a headache coming on and she could predict more coming in the near future, if she was truly going to be ‘visited’ again. As always, though; one of them at the time.

“So we need to get your sister to find your will where you hid it,” Lena started as Rachel nodded in agreement “but without talking to her directly.” Lena closed her eyes as the wheels in her head slowly started turning. She was certainly not breaking into someone’s home. She could already imagine the headlines, should she get caught. If she could forge a search warrant and get it on the desk of a police detective they would surely find the will. (They were trained to look beyond the obvious, after all.) But that could also lead to a judge potentially finding out that a warrant had been signed under his name, which might lead an investigation back to her. So maybe, her hacking skills could be used in this situation. One of the few things Lex had taken pleasure in teaching her, was how to get into people’s computers and personal accounts. Their very own Luthor-version of innocent child’s play. But even then, she risked leaving a trail that lead back to her and her company. Or maybe not…

She rounded her desk and opened up her computer again to look something up. Or rather, someone. “I think I have an idea….”

 

* * *

 

It was dark outside as Lena entered the small and slightly shabby apartment-complex near the centre of the city. She was carrying a folder that contained information she was about to put to good use. It had been a little while after she had moved the company to National City, when they had been hacked. Lena had only heard about it the next morning as the head of the Cyber Security team had been up all night collecting information about the breach. Mr. Fischer had seemed to be offended on a personal level that someone had been able to circumvent his security measures and to be honest, she had to say she was quite impressed as well. Apparently, the hacker hadn’t actually stolen anything; they’d just looked at the blueprints of some of their latest projects and had gotten out again. Unfortunately for them though, Cyber Security had been able to track the hacker down and gather all their personal information. The look on Mr. Fischer’s face was almost comical when Lena had told him she didn’t intend to press charges. She’d thought it might come in useful to have someone this skilled in her back pocket someday. Turns out that day, was today.

She came to a stop in front of a door with the number nine on it as she looked at it with trepidation. This was very risky, but it was better than any other alternative she’d been able to come up with. Okay, no problem. She’d faced tricky situations before. This was just another negotiation. Logic was on her side, for once. She took one last deep breath as she knocked on the door. She could hear stumbling on the other side, as if someone was walking into things. “Hang on… just a sec-” she could hear a muffled voice say. There was a lot of clicking as the resident of the apartment had apparently reached the door where the bolts were being unlocked. After letting her wait for an amount of time that would have been rude, had she been just a friendly visitor, the door finally swung open. “Sorry about that, I wasn’t…”

A man had appeared in the doorway and he was apparently chewing on something. Lena got to see exactly what it was as the man’s jaw went slack upon seeing her, his open mouth revealing the partly-chewed nacho chips he’d been consuming. Lovely. “You’re… you’re…” the man swallowed harshly, apparently realising his mouth was full. “You’re Lena Luthor!” She looked at him with a stone cold glare as she raised one eyebrow.

“And you’re Winn Schott Jr.”

The man’s jaw went slack again, although thankfully his mouth wasn’t as full as it was before. “You… you know me?” Lena allowed a small smile to trace her lips, carefully making sure it looked as menacing as possible. “Maybe not personally, but I know you’re an IT expert. I know you work at CatCo Worldwide Media. And I know you hacked into my company’s network several months ago.” The man seemed to shrink in on himself as he opened and closed his mouth, searching for a coherent sentence. “I… actually got a new job.” He swallowed again as he seemed thoroughly intimidated by the slightly shorter woman. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that.” Lena let her smile grow wider as she kept her eyes locked on the frightened young man. “No, you probably shouldn’t have.”

This was going to be a lot easier than she thought.

 

* * *

 

 

It was early. Even by Lena Luthor standards it was still fairly early. There was a deafening silence in the majority of the L-Corp building as there were only a few security guards present. Titus, who manned the front desk on the ground floor at this hour, had been half asleep when Lena had walked through the doors and explained to him that a man would be arriving shortly and if he could direct him to the servers on the first floor. He looked slightly more awake when she’d slipped him a hundred dollar bill and told him that, if anyone asked, she was the only one there this morning. The corridor in front of the relatively small room with servers and generators was exactly where Lena was standing now, while nervously glancing at her watch.

Everything was going to be fine. This Winn was going to show up any second now and do exactly what she told him to do. He was clearly scared senseless by the thought of him getting prosecuted for hacking into L-Corp. At least the blackmailing part had been easy. He would bring his own computer, so no one would be able to trace anything back to her. And even if he did try to rat her out, the information she had on him would shatter his credibility. Considering how intimidated he’d been the other night, however, she didn’t think it would come to that. There was a loud squeaking noise of shoes on the marble floor as Winn stumbled around the corner of the corridor with all the grace of a drowsy fly. He hurriedly made his way towards Lena and came to a stop in front of her, nervously clutching his computer bag under his arm.

“You’re one minute late.”

He gulped loudly as the frightened look had returned on his face. “Sorry, it’s just… kind of early.” He nervously cleared his throat upon seeing Lena’s annoyed expression. “So, uh… why did we have to do this here?”

“Well,” Lena started “I’m sure you’re aware that some defence mechanisms include overcharging the intruder’s feed in order to fry their device, if it’s a personal computer. By hooking you up to my personal server for back-up power we should be able to avoid that.” Winn gave her a confused frown. “Yeah, but… only government agencies use that, right?” He laughed nervously before his face fell into complete disbelief. “Oh, god… we’re not hacking the government, are we?”

“Calm down, Schott” Lena said, as she could see the man starting to panic. “It’s just a precaution. We’re just hacking a private citizen, it should be fairly easy.” Winn let out a relieved sigh. “Oh, thank god.” Right at that moment Lena saw a figure appearing behind the man. Rachel had apparently found them and was waving enthusiastically as she walked towards the pair. Lena brought her attention back to Winn. “Why don’t you go inside and set up, I’ll be there in a second.” The man grasped his computer tightly as he nodded. “Right, okay…” He entered the small room filled with servers and back-up generators as Lena made sure the door was shut behind him.

She turned her attention back to the ghost. “Did you get it?” she asked. Rachel was squirming uneasily. “Um… well, not exactly.” Lena’s face dropped as she felt her anger boil up. “You mean I just blackmailed someone for nothing?! You do realise that without your sister’s IP address there’s nothing we can do? What the hell happened?!” Rachel was holding out her hands, apparently trying to calm her down. It wasn’t working. “Well… like I said, I thought I had it written down, but my sister must have moved some things around since the last time I went to my apartment. I couldn’t exactly, you know, pick anything up or open folders or anything.” Lena put her hands on her hips as she looked down at the floor.

“But it’s okay! I mean… I think.” Rachel shifted nervously as Lena looked back up at her. “I followed my sister to work” she explained. “The computers there all have stickers with their respective IP addresses on them. So… um… we can get into my sister’s work computer! That… is good, right?” Lena let out a sigh of relief. “Yes… yes, we can work with that.” She considered how to deal with this alteration in their plan as she moved to enter the small room with servers, but Rachel motioned her to stop. “Wait! There’s, uh… one more thing.” Lena paused with her hand on the door handle while giving the woman a questioning look. “You’re, uh… probably not going to like this, but…” she shifted on her feet while looking at the ceiling, seemingly avoiding the young CEO’s eyes. “My sister… she works for the D- I mean, she works for the FBI.”

Lena’s hand slid off the handle as her arms dropped to her side. She was staring at the woman with wide eyes as she realised what they were going to have to do. “You’re telling me” she growled in a low voice while stepping up closer to the ghost, “that we are about to hack the FBI?” She kept looking at Rachel with disbelief as the woman shrugged lightly while looking for something to say. “I- uh- I guess… yes?” She looked at Lena with a guilty look. “I’m sorry.” Lena huffed in response, still not sure how she’d gotten in so deep, so fast. “Well, don’t apologise to me” she said as she stepped back towards the door. “You should apologise to Mr. Schott. He’s the one who’s probably going to get arrested.”

“Oh… oh, no.”

She pressed the handle as she entered the room, Rachel following closely behind. She stepped up behind Winn, who was sitting behind his computer at the only table that wasn’t completely covered in wires and spare parts, seemingly all set to get started. “There’s been a change of plan, Mr. Schott” she announced as Winn turned his head towards her. “Turns out we’re going to have to hack the government after all.” His eyes instantly went wide. “The FBI, to be precise.”

“Oh, no, no, no…. that is waaaay to dangerous.” He stood up from his chair and backed away from it, as if trying to physically demonstrate how far away he wanted to get from the situation. “Do I need to remind you what will happen if I press charges for that stunt you pulled earlier this year?” Lena asked menacingly.

“I was just curious! I didn’t steal-”

“You could go to jail for a very long time.”

“But if I get caught hacking _the_ _FBI_ …”

“Then you better make sure you don’t get caught.”

Winn was still stammering, searching the room with his eyes as if he could find a convincing argument lying around somewhere. Lena felt slightly sorry for him but at this point, it was him or her. If she couldn’t help Rachel, she could possibly be stuck with her forever and if she hacked the FBI herself she could lose her company, not to mention her freedom. She did her best to summon up her most intimidating glare. “You will sit back down in that chair, get into the FBI’s network and find the personal account of Pamela Reynolds, do you understand?”

“Pamela R-“

Winn seemed to be brought out of his flustered state and stood dumbfounded for a moment, before turning his eyes back to Lena. “We’re hacking Pam from HR?” It was Lena’s turn to go wide-eyed as she realised what the man had just unintentionally confessed. There was a loud intake of breath as both Winn and Rachel gasped for air simultaneously, the former bringing up his hand in front of his mouth as he did so. In any other situation, she would’ve thought it to be extremely comical.

“You work for the FBI?!”

“He works with my sister?!”

“Um.. no… I mean… not- Oh god, J’onn is going to kill me.”

The man hung his head in defeat as he realised the cat was out of the bag. Lena was beginning to wonder how he’d gotten that job in the first place as he seemed terrible at keeping any sort of secret. She was also fairly sure he’d just given her the name of his boss. Well, well. If she had him in her pocket before, now she definitely had him by the-

“Well, that’s rather convenient, now isn’t it?” Lena said, having regained her composure. “If you work for them, you must have remote access to  their network, correct?”

“Well, yes but-”

“Which means getting into Pamela Reynolds’ account should be fairly easy, am I right?”

“I… I guess…”

“Good.” Lena pulled the chair further from the desk as if to invite Winn to sit back down. “Then how about we get on with it? Unless of course you’d like to spend your upcoming time in a cell?” He looked hesitant as his eyes wandered between the young Luthor and the chair. He finally seemed to accept that he was screwed, as he groaned dramatically and sat back down. He cracked his fingers once and started to type, his fingers flying over the keyboard. Lena was standing next to him while leaning with one hand on the table, monitoring his movements.

“Wow, that was really mean.”

 Lena looked over her shoulder at Rachel while raising her eyebrows as if to say ‘really?’. “What?” Rachel said, “it was.” Lena shook her head as she looked back towards the monitor. She wasn’t necessarily disagreeing that she was being underhanded but, come on, she was doing this for her. “Alright, I’m in” Winn proclaimed as he let out a nervous sigh. Lena didn’t recognise the logo on the screen as that of the FBI, but at the top there was clearly written an employee number followed by the name ‘Pamela Jane Reynolds’. “So, what do I do now?” Winn asked carefully. “I assume you have a separate mail address for your work at the bureau?” Lena asked hopefully. Winn gave her a confused look. “Um, yes…” he said slowly. “Then I need you to go to her personal inbox for me and plant an e-mail.” Winn now looked completely mystified as to why the CEO of a powerful company would bother hacking into the FBI, just to do something as mundane as plant an e-mail. Nonetheless he started typing away and soon there was a blank template for an e-mail on the screen. “Okay, so what should the e-mail say?”

“You will make it look like it was sent by Gmail’s helpdesk. Write something about them apologising for losing a mail that was sent to her due to a server malfunctioning, but that they’ve recovered it and sent it to her now.” Winn’s frown kept growing as he was clearly confused about what he was actually doing but still, he did as she asked. “Okay, and… done. So… what should the original mail say?” Lena took a deep breath as she knew they were almost finished now. “Make it look like it was sent on October 2nd, and like the sender was RachelSt79@Gmail.com,” she quickly glanced back to Rachel, who nodded in affirmation, “and make sure it says the following:

_Hey_

_So I forgot to tell you the other day, but my new will is in a secret compartment in the top shelf of my nightstand. Just in case._

_Love you,_

_Rachel_ ”

 

Winn complied with his orders but as he was nearing the end of the concocted mail, his typing gradually slowed down. He slowly typed out the last few words before pausing a moment. Suddenly he jumped up out of his seat, sending the chair screeching backwards. “How do you know all this?!” he asked with a trembling voice. “How do you even know Pam or her sister-”

“That’s none of your concern Mr. Schott-”

“How would you even know that she died?! I mean, I only found out because Pam’s office looked more like a shrine…”

“Um, Ms. Luthor…” Rachel had stepped closer to her and was gently trying to get her attention. She really didn’t need this added distraction right now. “Maybe you should just tell him?” Lena gritted her teeth in frustration as she couldn’t directly respond right now. Like she was going to tell people she had paranormal powers. Right. She forced herself to keep her focus on Winn. “Just sit back down so we can finish-”

“…and even after she started crying it took forever to get her to tell me what was wrong. She wouldn’t-”

“Mr. Schott, if you would just-”

“Ms. Luthor, I really think you should tell him.”

“…even if you knew, you couldn’t possibly know where her sister left her will-”

“Look at him, he’s so worried…”

Lena snapped her head to the side, silently warning Rachel to stay quiet. The woman made a face before she complied as Lena turned her head back towards Winn. She noticed he had stopped rambling and was just looking at her. Apparently her sideways glance hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Wait…” he said, drawing out the word. He looked silently from Lena to the place he had seen her throw a glance at and back again, his eyes actually going over Rachel even though he couldn’t see her. Lena was getting worried at the man’s sudden and extended silence. He couldn’t have figured something out, could he? I mean, of course he couldn’t. From everything she had been able to observe from him, she believed he would soon be a contender for a ‘most gullible man in the universe’ award. There was no way he would-

“Oh my god, you see dead people…”

Lena’s heart froze in her chest. “This is why you know all this stuff, Lena, this is- this is great news…” Lena was scrambling to come up with an excuse, nearly forgetting to feel offended that he had taken the liberty to move on to a first name basis. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, you-”

“He’s pretty smart, isn’t he?”

Lena sent a foul look in Rachel’s direction but she seemed too busy giving Winn an impressed look to notice. “Wait, she’s here right now, isn’t she?” Winn said, as his shocked expression started to make way for an excited one while searching the room with his eyes. “Quick, how many fingers am I holding up now?” he asked as he moved his hands behind his back. Was this guy for real? “Winn, you’re being ridiculous. No one can see-” She couldn’t help but pause her sentence at the sight of Rachel scurrying away from her to stand next to Winn and look behind his back. “It’s three! He’s holding up three fingers, Ms. Luthor!” Lena looked on in shock at the scene unfolding before her as she couldn’t believe all this. She was not exactly jumping for joy at the thought of giving proof of her ‘ability’, for lack of a better term. But they were almost done and if she wanted to avoid any chance of them getting caught, she _needed_ to get Winn out of the building before people would start coming in. She thought about the risks for a moment but if worse came to worse, she could always just have the man arrested after all this. She sighed in defeat as she looked at the pair of excited faces. This better speed things up. “You’re holding up three fingers.”

“And now?” “Seven, Ms. Luthor!” “Seven”

“And now?” “Five!” “Five”

“And now?” “He’s flipping me off!”

Lena raised her brow in annoyance. “Are you flipping her off?” she asked dryly.

“Whoa, sorry” Winn said while looking vaguely around the room as if he would be able to spot the ghost himself. “This is just… wow, this is so cool.” Winn was looking back at Lena now, almost with an expression of revered amazement. “So… you’re trying to make sure that Pam finds her sister’s will?”

“Yes,” Lena said sternly, “so if you wouldn’t mind sitting down again, I would like to get you out of here before my staff arrives.” Winn immediately moved towards the chair. “Of course… right, let’s do this!” He moved the chair back in position and sat down, now seemingly eager to finish the job as he typed in the last requirements. “Done!” The man sighed while looking very satisfied with himself. Lena wasn’t all that happy at this point, however. “I would like to take this time to remind you that you were never here,” she said in a warning tone, “and if you try going around telling people I can speak to the dead I _will_ make sure you see the inside of a penitentiary.” She thought that the man was probably smarter than that, but she still felt the need to make sure he remembered what she had hanging over his head. “Oh, no, of course not! I mean, I don’t mean to brag, but I’m totally great at keeping secrets.” She looked at him while frowning, not sure if he was trying to be funny or not. This was probably wrong, but she preferred it when he was scared half to death. “Then I think it’s time you left.”

“Yes… yes, you’re right. I should probably get to work, anyway.” He quickly started unplugging his extensions and gathering his things as Lena held her forehead with one hand. This was not how she’d anticipated this to go. It could have probably been worse, but still…  This was the first time she had told someone about her secret. It was a very big liability but still, for some reason, the fact that this complete stranger had taken the news so well was slightly comforting to her. When she looked up, she was surprised to find Winn trying to push a piece of paper into her hands. “What is this?” she asked as she took it from him. “That’s my phone number,” he said, “in case… you know, you need help with the…” he leaned in closely and whispered “…the ghost thing.” He stepped back again while smiling at her. “I mean, we made a pretty good team, right? We were almost like Han and Chewy, we were so awesome!” Lena scrunched up her face in confusion. “Who?”

“Han Solo… and…” Lena kept giving him a confused look. “Oh, come on! You’ve never seen Star Wars?!” She shook her head silently, feeling a little concerned at his shocked face and how seriously he seemed to be taking this. “Well, that… that…” he shook his head in disbelief “that is just unacceptable. You need to fix that like, ASA- Oh, god…” he halted his words as he looked at his watch. “Yep. I’m definitely gonna be late for work now. I’ve got to go.” He scurried towards the door before turning back. “Just, next time… maybe just… _ask_ for help instead of blackmailing me?” he said in a slightly pleading voice. Lena couldn’t help a smirk from forming on her face. “How about next time you’re curious about L-Corp’s projects you just _ask_ , instead of hacking us?” She received a timid grin in response. “Alright… fair point.” He chuckled nervously as he opened the door of the small room. “Okay, well… bye.”

With that, he walked out as the door fell closed behind him. Lena looked at the piece of paper in her hand as she wondered what she should do with it. It might be wiser to get rid of any evidence that could connect her to Winn, but she had to admit that the prospect of having some help with her supernatural problems was a pleasant surprise. What the hell. She put the phone number in her pocket, deciding to keep it, as she turned around to look for Rachel.

She was stunned to find the woman besides the table, looking at the point where Winn’s computer had just been standing as tears were actually streaming down her face. “What’s… what’s wrong?” she asked as she stepped closer to the usually cheerful woman. “I… I didn’t even realise… that I forgot” Rachel said. Lena felt the unfamiliar urge to comfort the woman as she took another step closer. “What? What did you forget?” she asked softly. “Before… before I went into surgery…” Rachel said as she wiped at her tears with the sleeve of her sweater “…I forgot to tell Pam that I love her.” Rachel looked at Lena, tears still streaming, but with a smile on her face. “Thank you… for telling her for me.” Lena felt humbled, as she had just thought it was an appropriate way to end the mail. She hadn’t considered how much it would mean to the woman standing in front of her. The woman who was still smiling… as beams of light were slowly starting to seep through her skin. “Thank you… a million times!”

Lena didn’t know what to do with all this gratitude, so she just muttered the only thing she could think of; “Don’t mention it.” Rachel kept smiling as the light grew brighter and started moving towards the centre of her body. She kept smiling her tearful smile as the light slowly but surely moved across her face, removing it from Lena’s sight. The reindeer’s hooves on her sweater were the last to disappear, as the light merged together to leave just the outline of her body. The light started pulling away and separating, just the way Lena remembered seeing it last year. As the light started shaping into orbs and floating away, Lena couldn’t help a smile from crossing her face. She kept smiling as the orbs’ light grew weaker and weaker until the only light that was left in the small room, was the one coming from the neon lamps on the ceiling.

 

Rachel Sturridge had just passed on.

 

And despite being a billionaire. Despite guiding a company that was headed for certain doom into a brighter future. Despite just having blackmailed someone. For the first time in a very long time, Lena felt proud of herself.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

Winn was never one to be late on the job. He was mostly a diligent worker, but seeing as he had started working for the DEO just a few weeks ago, that was hardly common knowledge around here. That was probably the reason why J’onn had very publicly chewed him out this morning. Although to be fair, perhaps the fact that he hadn’t been able to come up with a decent excuse to explain his tardiness, also hadn’t helped the Martian’s mood. Nevertheless, he’d managed to not get fired and to not confess that he had almost revealed the existence of the DEO to a certain intimidating woman, _who had never even seen Star Wars_!

Honestly.

He was currently walking through a corridor on the first floor as he needed to drop of some paperwork with Agent Vasquez, when he passed by the mess hall and stopped in his tracks. In a corner of the room, at a small table, he could see Pam from HR as she was surrounded by a few colleagues. She was bawling her eyes out. Winn couldn’t hear everything she was saying through her constant sobbing from where he was standing, but he caught a few words including; _‘She said she loved me’_ and _‘I’ll never say a bad word about Gmail again’._ Winn just stood near the doorway as he smiled at the scene before him. He didn’t care what the rest of the city said.

 

Lena Luthor was a good egg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious; I love writing Winn
> 
> Next week; watch me squirm to comply with canon


	5. Henry James Olsen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During 2x05

_Fireworks lit up the sky, as the bonfires on the ground were surrounded by dancing creatures. Everybody celebrated and rejoiced as the Empire was finally defeated. Old friends reunited as the Ewoks played their indigenous instruments while others simply banged along on discarded Stormtrooper helmets. Luke took one last look at the ghosts of his father and his two mentors, before walking away to join his friends in the celebration._

As the credits rolled on the large TV screen, Lena found herself sitting on her couch while staring, mouth slightly open, at the names flashing by on the screen with a look that was not befitting of an all-powerful CEO. She reached for the remote and turned off the TV, realising she was still gaping at the black screen.

Yesterday she’d cancelled her entire day to deal with the organising of a gala for the damaged children’s hospital while, in secret, building a black body field-generator to trap the criminals the party would surely attract. Surprisingly, she’d actually finished early so she decided to rent all six Star Wars movies (yes, apparently National City still had a place where you could rent movies, go figure) and see what her short-lived accomplice was so overly serious about. She’d intended to watch the first movie that night and then come back to the rest when she had the time, assuming they were any good. Unfortunately she had been so intrigued, that she decided to watch the next one as well. And the next. After episode four, she didn’t even stop to look at the clock anymore before putting on the next film.

How had she never watched this? Sure, she never got to watch a lot of films as a kid, but after leaving for boarding school and while attending MIT she would indulge in a movie now and then. Nothing she’d ever seen compared to all this, however. Lena sniffed softly, as perhaps seeing a parent sacrificing their ideals for their child’s wellbeing had gotten to her a little. She startled at the sound of her phone suddenly buzzing and picked it up.

**Jess:** < _Ms. Luthor, are you alright? You were supposed to be here over an hour ago_ >

**Jess:** < _It’s 9 AM, WHERE ARE YOU?_ >

Lena inhaled sharply as she looked at her clock. Jess was not wrong; Lena Luthor had stayed up all night watching movies. _Shit_. This was completely unacceptable. She texted Jess that she’d be there in twenty minutes before scrambling to put on her work clothes. Now she would have to face an entire day of running L-Corp without getting any sleep. _May the Force be with me_.

 

Soon, she was in her car as Trevor pulled up at a small place that was apparently called ‘Noonan’s’. She usually had Jess pick up her food, but since she was passing by here anyway and she didn’t want to further stress out her assistant now that she would have to completely overthrow her schedule, she decided to pick up breakfast herself. Once inside, she placed her order and looked at an empty corner of the restaurant while she waited, imagining an alien band playing merry tunes. _Stop it, Lena! Get into work mode!_

“Excuse me, Ms. Luthor?”

She looked to her side to see a young man, about the same height as her, with a boyish smile on his face. His slightly hunched posture and friendly expression sort of reminded her of Winn. “Can I help you?” she asked. “I believe you can,” the man started “but I don’t think you should be looking at me. I’m here to ask if you’ve finished helping Rachel.” Lena closed her eyes as she faced forward and hung her head down while letting out a long sigh. Oh, come on, not now. She hadn’t slept all night and sure, that was her own fault, but she was still way too tired for this. She reached into her pocket as she remembered the trick she’d used before and pulled out her phone. She put it to her ear as she glanced around and saw that there were a few people present, but none of them seemed to be paying attention to her. Good.

“Yes, I did… I helped her” she said cautiously. “Are you Sam, then?” she asked, remembering the names Rachel had told her. “No, no,” he said with a laugh “the name is Henry James Olsen, but you can call me Jimmy.” She couldn’t help but throw a quick glance towards the man next to her while frowning in confusion. “Forgive me,” she said cautiously “but I’m pretty sure Jimmy Olsen is doing fine and has just been appointed as Cat Grant’s successor at CatCo.” The man let out another laugh as he spoke again; “Ah, yes. You’re thinking of James Olsen” he said while still smiling “he’s my brother.” Lena knew that she probably shouldn’t, but she threw another glance in the man’s direction. “You don’t… look like him.” The man let out a chuckle. “I know, I know, he got the height and the muscles and… well, honestly he’s probably smarter than me too but hey, at least I’m the one who still has hair!” Lena didn’t respond but silently took her breakfast from the man behind the counter as she subtly gestured Jimmy to follow her. She walked out of the establishment and got in her car while Jimmy got in on the other side, stepping right through the door. (She would never get used to seeing that.) She asked Trevor to put up the partition and as soon as he did, she put her phone down and allowed herself to look at the ghost beside her.

The fact that she was now helping deceased people settle their business while she was supposed to be running a large and powerful corporation, still didn’t sit well with her. Not to mention that the idea of people thinking she was crazy still frightened her more than she’d like to admit. Nonetheless, she knew that it wasn’t the same as with John Corben anymore. The ghosts that where visiting her now, seemed to be friendly and even respectful. Not that she could trust them to be; she was obviously just very lucky with the dead crowd she attracted. More importantly than that though, there now was a light at the end of the tunnel (no pun intended). She would help Jimmy, then the other two that Rachel had mentioned, and then her life could go back to normal. Right?

“So is your brother the reason you’re here?”

Jimmy nodded as he seemed to turn slightly more serious. “Yes. He is.” He hesitated for a moment before turning slightly in his seat. “So, I know that this isn’t exactly easy but…” he paused for a moment as Lena was already feeling wary about where this was going “…I really want him to stop being afraid.” Lena stayed silent for a while as she regarded the man next to her. “Is there… any chance you could be more specific?” she asked carefully. Jimmy gave her an apologetic look. “Um… not really?” He smiled hesitantly while shrugging his shoulders. “I know it’s kind of a vague request-”

“It is.”

“-but I don’t want him to spend the rest of his life thinking he isn’t doing enough for the world, just because he doesn’t dare to do more.” Lena looked at the man with a frown on her face as she was feeling slightly confused at this point. “Jimmy, no offense” she started “but you’re speaking in riddles right now. How would running a company like CatCo not be enough for anyone? And what exactly should he be afraid of?” She thought of James Olsen and his large frame and tried to picture him in some form of danger. “It’s not like there’s a lot of people that would pick a fight with him, are there?” Jimmy gave her a sad smile and sighed. “It’s not that simple Ms. Luthor. You shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.” Lena wanted to protest but Jimmy carried on; “I’ve watched over him for almost 15 years now and between his father dying in combat and him always being friends with Superman, he’s always felt like he was coming up short. But he never did much about it. He was always too scared. Believe me, I’m his brother, I can tell.”

Lena looked at the ghost with surprise. “You’ve been dead for fifteen years?” she asked incredulously. Jimmy just nodded. “He was still a kid when I died” he replied sadly. Lena shook her head as this was a lot to take in. “So you want me to fix an emotional problem that’s been lingering for that long? Not to mention that I still don’t know what it is that you want, exactly” she said as she gave the spectre a scrutinising look. “Would you have him dive head first into danger? Pick fights he couldn’t possibly win? Put him in harm’s way just so he can feel like he’s a superhero?” Jimmy shook his head while a frown was forming on his face. “Of course I don’t want him to be irresponsible or… to get hurt.” He took a moment, as a sigh escaped his lips and looked intently at Lena. “But this sense that he has, that he’s wasting his life, is already hurting him. I don’t want him to stop and hesitate anymore, every time that he thinks he’s not good enough. I don’t want him to doubt that he can do something important, even if he doesn’t have the powers that Superman does. I don’t know how else to explain, but…” He averted his eyes as he seemed to look for the right words. “You can’t… he… I mean no one…”

“You can’t live in fear…”

Lena had spoken softly and without thinking about it. “Yes,” Jimmy said ”…exactly.” Lena smiled in understanding. She knew very well what it felt like to be scared. She had been terrified to be suddenly put in charge of a company that was hated by the majority of the country and adored by a deplorable few. She was petrified, when the man that was hired to kill her had taken a federal agent hostage right in front of her. And of course, nothing had sent shivers down her spine quite like the apparition of various dead people. But she’d moved past her fears, because that was the only way you could keep living. So they shared an understanding now. And while that was all very well, it didn’t help with the problem she faced with helping the living Olsen brother. She was about to voice her concern when she was reminded of something.

“So, this might sound silly,” she started, “but did you, at any point… see the future?” Jimmy looked completely dumbfounded. “The future!? Um… no, I’m… pretty sure that I didn’t” he said while laughing nervously. “Why, is that… something that’s supposed to happen?” he asked with genuine concern. Lena was about to divulge the claims made by previous spirits when the car came to a stop in front of its destination, revealing the headquarters of the multi-million dollar company whose survival depended on her being focused. Right.

“Look, Jimmy” she said “I have to start working, but if you walk with me to my office you can wait outside of it until I can spare a moment to continue talking, is that alright?”

“Yes, of course” he said, looking almost relieved. “Believe it or not I don’t have much else to do.” He chuckled at his own joke as they got out of the car and headed inside. As they walked past Titus at the front desk and stepped into Lena’s private elevator, she mulled over the possibilities in her head while listening to stories about James’ childhood. The fact that some spirits seemed to be able to see ahead in time while others couldn’t, was still a mystery to her. She accepted the fact that she wouldn’t get to the bottom of that particular conundrum today, however, and instead started considering the problem of James Olsen. Maybe she could get him to see a therapist? Of course, there wasn’t exactly a subtle way to suggest that, especially to someone she’d never even met. How was she supposed to inspire courage in someone, anyway? She would think that seeing superheroes at work would go a long way, but apparently being close friends with Superman had done quite the opposite. Well, at least he’d handled his relationship with the Man of Steel better than Lex had.

“Ms. Luthor?”

Lena was brought out of her thoughts and looked over at Jimmy. “I realise that this could take a while,” he said, “so if there’s anything I can do in return, you just have to ask.” Lena appreciated the offer but she couldn’t refrain from giving a humourless laugh. “Thank you Jimmy, but I don’t think there’s much that a ghost could…” Lena’s face fell as she came to a sudden realisation. Mathematically it might not make sense, but she might’ve just found a way to make one headache cancel out another. “Actually… there _is_ something you can do for me” she said slowly. “At 10:30…” Suddenly the elevator doors opened, revealing a frantically pacing Jess who immediately approached Lena with a panicked expression on her face.

“Ms. Luthor! Is everything okay?! You’re literally never late!”

“I’m fine, Jess,” she said while giving her assistant a curious look. “There’s really no need to be this worried.”

“Oh no, that’s not why… It’s… We’ve kind of been hacked again. Apparently the IT department is in chaos.”

Lena’s insides turned as she watched her assistant nervously bite her nails. “Is it the same guy as the other time?” she asked bitterly as she prepared for the worse. “No” Jess replied “apparently they’ve been able to determine that it’s someone else, but they can’t get them out of the system.” Lena felt her body relax as she realised she hadn’t been betrayed. Not this time…

“Apparently the hacker’s trying to steal our projects. The IT team insists that we need to bring in a specific expert but he would be expensive, even for us, so I need you to sign off on it.” She held out a document in her hands but Lena pushed it away. “Never mind that, Jess” she said as she pulled out her phone while her assistant looked on in surprise “I have a better idea.” She dialled the number she’d been given on a scrappy piece of paper a few weeks ago, and waited for Winn to answer his phone.

 

It was a couple of hours later that Lena found herself walking towards her IT department on the first floor, eager for an update. She hadn’t heard anything from them since Winn had arrived and apparently they were too busy to pick up a damn phone. Like she didn’t have anything better to do now. Like she didn’t have a malfunctioning black body field-generator to fix before the gala this weekend. She was just approaching her destination when Winn backed out of the double doors while shaking his head. She could hear him mutter something that sounded a suspicious lot like ‘bloody amateurs’. He turned around and saw the young CEO coming closer.

“Hey! Lena!”

She quirked an eyebrow at the jovial greeting. “Come down here to check on the PALL?” Lena scrunched up her face in confusion. “You’re my _pal_?” she asked.

“No, no, I’m _the_ PALL; The Paranormal Assistant to Lena Luthor!”

“That’s not a thing…”

“It’s totally a thing!”

“You should not be inventing names.”

“Hey! I’m great at-”

“So I take it we’re no longer being hacked?” she asked, not sure if she should be amused or annoyed right now. “Oh, yeah, I totally fixed that” he said with a smug look on his face. “Not to be rude or anything, but some of your firewalls are downright antique.” Lena gave the man a smirk. “And yet, you still couldn’t break into my network without getting busted.” Winn now looked slightly less proud as he waved his hand dismissively. “Alright, alright, can’t we just… forget that happened?”

“Not a chance” she replied.

“Ms. Luthor…”

Lena jumped slightly as she turned around to find that Jimmy had apparently found her all the way down here. “You’re back! What…” She quickly glanced around the highly exposed space before grabbing a very confused Winn by his forearm and dragging him into a supply room. She turned back to Jimmy who had followed them inside. “So? What happened? What did she say?” Winn was looking from Lena to the empty space and back. “What… what is…” She could see the lightbulb go off in his head. “Oh… there’s another ghost? This is so cool! Why didn’t you say an-” Lena shot him a warning look. “Okay, okay,” he said, “I’ll just… observe.” Lena rolled her eyes before looking at Jimmy again, inviting him to speak. She had asked him to go to the board meeting that was being held on the fifth floor and remember everything that was said by, or about, a certain Mona Smith. She was finally going to find out what the woman was up to. And how many board members actually had a hand in this.

“She wasn’t there” Jimmy said. Lena’s excitement flooded away as she groaned out her frustration. “Are you sure? I described her to you, didn’t I? She-”

“No, no, you described her just fine,” he said, “but there weren’t any women at the meeting, like, at all.” He gave a small frown. “Isn’t that… statistically unlikely?” Lena let out a humourless laugh. “It’s more common than you think.”

“Well anyway, they talked for what seemed like forever, but they never mentioned the name Mona Smith.” He gave her an apologetic look.

“Did some of the board members leave as a group?” she asked, still intent on finding out who exactly was trying to undermine her. “No, not really” Jimmy said while shrugging “a few of them left in pairs, but mostly they just went their own way. I’m really sorry, but I couldn’t follow all of them at the same time.” Lena waved her hand reassuringly while hanging her head down in thought. “That’s alright… it’s fine. This is actually good.” If the board had been colluding within a large group, this would have been the best time to talk amongst themselves or to meet with Mrs. Smith. After all, there would be nothing suspicious about a few investors getting lunch together after a meeting, right? But if that wasn’t the case, if it was just one or two of them, then the rest of the board would still have to be convinced of Lena’s inadequacy in order to vote her out of her position. In that case, those few members really didn’t have that much power over her. But that’s not the sense she got from talking to Mrs. Smith. She always seemed overly confident, almost cocky, as if getting what she wanted would be the easiest thing in the world, despite her opponent being Lena Luthor.

“So, what’s uh… going on?”

Lena had almost forgotten that Winn was still there, but now he was looking at her expectantly. “Can I help too?” he asked. He looked almost excited at the prospect of diving into another spirit-saving crusade. Well, at least one of them was happy. Unfortunately, she didn’t see any way for the man to be useful. “No, Winn” she said “unless you can read my board members’ minds or are close friends with James Olsen I don’t think-”

“I am!”

“You’re… you’re what?”

“I’m friends with James!”

“He is, actually. I’ve seen them together” Jimmy added.

Lena looked at Winn, completely baffled by the man’s knack of knowing people with hovering dead relatives. “Wait, did James lose someone? He didn’t tell me anything” Winn said, looking concerned.

“Well, it happened a long time ago. His brother Jimmy has been dead for 15 years” she said while glancing at the ghost beside her. “James had a brother?!” Winn exclaimed with eyes the size of plates. “Well, then I have to help! I don’t care what it takes, if we’re helping James-” Lena halted his rambling by raising her hand. “This might actually be slightly more complicated than hacking someone, Winn” she said with a serious tone. “But…” Lena paused, while considering some possibilities “…you could help me get started.”

She suddenly opened the door of the oversized closet they were still hiding in and started walking with purpose as Winn stumbled along behind her and Jimmy followed. “I assume they would still let you in at CatCo?” she asked. “Yeah, sure” Winn said. “I go there all the time, you know, to talk to James or Kara…” Lena suddenly stopped and turned around, almost causing Winn to bump into her as she gave him a wide-eyed look.

“You know Kara Danvers?”

“Um, yeah… we’re like, total buddies…”

“You didn’t tell her I blackmailed you, did you?”

Winn looked at her curiously, seemingly surprised by the worried tone of her voice. “No…”

Lena sighed with relief while Winn seemed pretty confused. “I mean, I didn’t tell anyone. Do you know how embarrassing it is for a hacker to get caught?” Lena smiled at him as some good humour returned to her features. “Oh, I wouldn’t know” she said. “I’ve never been caught.” Winn now gave her a wide grin of his own. “Show-off” he said, as they resumed walking. “So CatCo, huh?” Lena nodded as they rounded the corner to the elevator. “Yes” she said, as she pressed the button to reach the ground floor “but we need to make a stop at the News Archive first.”

The doors closed as Winn and Jimmy both gave her a confused look.

 

* * *

 

 

The streets of National City were not too busy yet, as it was still too early for most people’s lunch breaks. There was a mellow flow of vehicles, humans and aliens as a large car came to a stop in front of CatCo Worldwide Media. Lena Luthor stepped out onto the curb, followed by her two ‘associates’, so to speak, one of them stepping right through a closed door and into traffic. “I still don’t see how this is gonna help him” Winn said as they paused and looked up at the tall building. “Well, it’s just a start” Lena said, slightly annoyed at the lack of faith she was getting from the man. “I would like to see _you_ solve a man’s psychological problems within a few days.” Winn still didn’t look too convinced as Jimmy came to stand beside them. “For what it’s worth, I think it’s an excellent idea” Jimmy said while giving her an encouraging smile. “Thank you” she said.

“For what?” Winn asked.

Lena didn’t even try to fight the urge to roll her eyes. “Winn, when I say something without any context, just assume I’m not talking to you, alright?” she said.

“Oh, right.”

Winn nervously cleared his throat as he took a look at the newspaper Lena was clenching under her arm. They had just gone to the News Archive of the National City Library to find a very old edition of the Daily Planet. On the front page there was a picture of James’ father while the headline was a quote from one of the soldiers he had saved in the incident that cost him his life: ‘He Never Hesitated’. It wasn’t quite as direct as ‘Be Brave’ or something like that, but Lena was certain that being confronted with his father’s heroism again might inspire the newly appointed head of CatCo to, well, …be brave. According to Winn, it would just remind him that brave people ended up dead. “Right,” Winn said, “so we just waltz in, leave the newspaper on his desk and get out again?”

“No,” Lena said “ _you_ just waltz in, leave the newspaper on his desk and get out again.”

“Oh, come on!”

“What did you expect,” Lena said, “you’re his friend. If he catches you, you’ll just say you were stopping by or something.”

“But we talked on the phone this morning.”

“Not important.”

“Wait a minute,” Winn said with a confused frown, “if I’m doing all the work, why are you and the dead guy tagging along?” Jimmy gave him a foul look. “ _The dead guy…?_ ”

Lena shut her eyes tightly as she felt a headache coming on. “I’m coming with you” she said through gritted teeth “to make sure you don’t chicken out or do something stupid.” Winn stayed silent despite looking thoroughly offended. Jimmy nervously cleared his throat and motioned towards the revolving door. “Should we, uh… go in, then?” Lena nodded firmly and stepped forward, with Winn and Jimmy following closely behind. As they stepped inside, she noticed the front desk was managed by a scruffy looking young man. He seemed to perk up when he noticed them entering.

“Yo there, Winslow” he said with a wide grin as he stood up to give the man a fist bump. “Hey there, Andy” Winn said while sporting a matching grin. “You here to see the big boss?” the guard asked. “Yup, just stoppin’ by,” Winn said, “we’ll be out in no time.” He dragged out his words, speaking in a tone that had Lena cringing all the way. Why not just walk in with a giant sign that said: ‘We’re up to something’? The friendly man behind the desk didn’t seem to notice, however. “No problem, man, take as long as you want” he said while he sat back down. “Thanks, buddy.” Winn moved past the desk and towards the elevator, with Lena and Jimmy following. Lena couldn’t help but be concerned with the unbelievably inadequate security in place. I mean sure, Winn was harmless, but he’d been able to smuggle her in without as much as an ID check. She wondered what Cat Grant would think of all this.

“Well, that was pretty easy” Jimmy said as Winn pressed the button to go up and the elevator doors closed. “Yeah” Lena said “so far, so good.” Winn just had a stupid grin in place as he’d apparently all but forgotten the objections he had about five minutes ago. “Yeah… we’re totally ninja-level when it comes to secret missions.” Lena was having conflicting feelings about the man right now; not knowing whether she should laugh at him or tell him just how non-sneaky he was. She didn’t have much time to think about it, however, as the doors opened and revealed the busy work-floor. She handed Winn the newspaper and gave Jimmy a nod, silently signalling him to check if James was in his office, like they had planned earlier. As Jimmy went ahead to check things out, Lena and Winn stepped out of the elevator, carefully making sure to stay out of view of all the scurrying figures in the main office space which, very inconveniently, only had glass walls.

“So, you really think this could give him a push in the right direction?” Winn asked as he looked thoughtfully at the newspaper in his hands. Lena sighed as she shot a glance in the direction where Jimmy had just gone off to. “Well, like I said, it’s just a start” she said while nervously rubbing the back of her neck. “First, we just need to remind him of the things or, in this case, the people that he looked up to. That’s what we’re doing right now.” She shifted on her feet, as she was getting more nervous the longer they were standing there doing nothing. “How we’re going to get him to be brave enough to be just like them, is another problem, though. We’re going to have to figure that out later.” Winn was looking at her and was smiling, for some reason. “There you go, that’s much better” he said. Lena looked at him with a suspicious look, wondering what had prompted the man to talk to her like she was a toddler who’s learning to eat with a fork. “What is better?” she asked.

“You’re saying that _we_ need to figure things out.”

He looked at her with a cheesy grin that was really annoying her right now. Before she had a chance to retort, however, Jimmy came running back. “It’s clear!” he said. “He’s still in a meeting but I don’t think it’ll last much longer, so we need to hurry up.” Lena turned to Winn. “You can go” she said “but be quick about it.” Winn gripped the newspaper tighter as he stepped towards the main office. “Right… alright… here I go.” He disappeared around the corner, almost tripping in his nervous excitement. Jimmy looked after him with a concerned expression before looking back at Lena. “Should I…” he started. Lena just nodded. “…yeah, you’re right.” He followed Winn back in as Lena made sure to stay out of sight of the main office and all of its see-through walls.

It was a good thing Cat Grant valued her privacy, otherwise this whole operation would have been derailed by the presence of security cameras. Apparently James could appreciate that, as he hadn’t had any installed, either. Lena felt she understood the woman’s decision, although the lack of cameras in her own office was admittedly more due to her ghostly visitors and the undesirable possibility of the existence of footage where Lena Luthor was talking to herself. All of a sudden Jimmy came sliding back around the corner. Had he been alive, his shoes would have made a spectacularly loud screeching sound on the floor. “We have a problem! Winn was about to leave, but then James came out of the meeting. Winn’s hiding behind the desk, but James is just outside of his office and when he finishes talking to that reporter…”

The possibilities flashed through Lena’s mind in a matter of milliseconds. He could tell James he was just there to visit him, like she’d suggested outside. But Winn would never have the wherewithal to hide the newspaper, would he? James would see it and he would ask about it. And Winn had proven he couldn’t keep a secret. How long until he would admit to trying to sneak in? How long until he would mention Lena Luthor? How long until he would start spilling the beans on her being able to see ghosts…? Lena decided she didn’t want to wait and find out if James Olsen was as obtuse as Andy the security guard, so she walked around the corner and barged through the glass door, entering the space filled almost completely with desks. Just when she stepped in, she saw James turning around as he was about to enter his office.

“Mr. Olsen!”

James stopped in his tracks with his hand on the door to his office as Lena stepped closer to him, coming to a stop a few feet away from him. Because she was coming from the side, she could actually see Winn crouching behind the desk with a panicked expression on his face. “Ms. Luthor…” James said “this is… quite a surprise.” From the corner of her eye she could see Winn trying to peek over the desk. “Would you like to step into my office so we can-” Lena felt panic surging through her body but she kept her cool exterior, her unreadable CEO mask firmly in place. _Poise and dignity!_ “I think we can talk just fine out here” she said while making sure her voice revealed no emotion. James’ look went from surprised to cold and suspicious as he let go of the door and stepped up to face the youngest Luthor. She could see the same distrust in his eyes as she had seen in those of Clark Kent. Well, they were friends after all. She realised he’d probably mistaken her refusal to go into his office as a form of disrespect or as her trying to assert her power but quite frankly, she didn’t care about being friendly right now.

“I thought it wise to introduce myself to the new head of CatCo” she said while extending her hand. “Congratulations, by the way.” James hesitated but then gave her a quick handshake before clearing his throat. “So that’s all you came for?” he asked as he gave her a wary look “Not to ask for a specific kind of coverage on our part?” Lena clenched her jaw as she could see Winn slipping out of the office behind James’ back while exaggeratedly tip-toeing towards the exit. “The only coverage I ask for is the fair and objective kind” she said while giving him one of her signature glares. “Assuming you’re not a biased publication I would think that kind of coverage can’t be classified as ‘specific’, now can it?” James didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway. “Alright, Ms. Luthor, point taken. If you’ll excuse me I still have a lot to do, I’m sure you’ll understand.” Lena nodded as she started turning away. “Of course. Pleasure meeting you Mr. Olsen” she said as she walked away while James slowly moved towards his office. “Yeah. Pleasure…” he said while giving her a worried look as she moved further away.

Lena let out a sigh as she approached the door leading out of the space full of pacing personnel. That was way too close. She knew that telling Winn her secret would’ve been a liability. As she opened the door to step out, she glanced over her shoulder to see if James had found the old newspaper. Her eyes didn’t make it to the man’s office, however. They stopped halfway, and focused on a blonde woman’s back who was talking to a man sitting at his desk with his feet up, while gesturing animatedly.

Oh… right. Kara worked here.

She should probably get out of there, though. It would be very awkward if she ran into James again. Her feet weren’t listening to her head, though, as they carried her towards the young reporter as if they were being pulled in by a gravitational force. Like the Millennium Falcon being pulled to the death star. It wasn’t logical. Like it hadn’t been logical when she had granted Kara ( _a reporter!_ ) unlimited access to her office. It was the first and only time she’d had a full-blown argument with Jess. It wasn’t logical, not in the slightest. That would usually annoy her to no end but right now, she couldn’t stop smiling.

“Kara…”

“Lena! Surprise visit to CatCo?”

 

 

It wasn’t until later that it dawned on Lena. Not until she was back in her private lab. Only after she had thoroughly scolded Winn for messing up such an easy task. Not until she was in the middle of fixing that stupid black body field-generator. The black body field-generator that would stop some very dangerous criminals. Dangerous criminals that would show up at her gala. The gala she had just invited Kara to come to…

 No, that was not acceptable. She still had time to get the generator working, but still. If it didn’t work…

**Lena:** < _Winn, I need another favour_ >

**Winn:** < _Is it gonna end with you yelling at me again?_ >

**Lena:** < _Relax, I just need an address_ >

**Winn:** < _Oh, okay. What address?_ >

**Lena:** < _Kara Danvers’ apartment_ >

**Winn:** < _What_ >

 

* * *

 

The gala was almost deserted at this point. There was no more music as two members of the band had been injured during the fight and had to be taken to the hospital. Chet Miner and his cohorts were long gone, all of them dragged away by the police who had taken over their custody from Supergirl. It was a good thing she’d invited her after all. Otherwise her guests could have been seriously harmed. She surveyed the scene as her eyes went over the empty dancefloor and a few paramedics who were still present, checking on people with small cuts and bruises. Out of the side of her eye she could see Winn coming closer and stand next to her, as he too looked over the remainder of the guests. “Well, that could have gone worse, I suppose.”

Lena hummed thoughtfully as it was probably still closer than she would’ve liked it to be. Damn that generator and it’s seemingly random defects. “You could’ve told me, you know” Winn said without judgement in his voice. “I could’ve helped.” Lena knew he probably meant well but she couldn’t help being annoyed by the statement. “You may have helped me with certain _special_ problems,” she said, “but that doesn’t mean I need you to save me every time there’s a crisis.” Winn turned and now faced her completely. “What? That’s… Come on, that’s not what I meant.” He seemed to search for the right thing to say as Lena kept looking over the remaining party-goers, noticing that James was still there. As was Jimmy. “I just mean that everyone needs a hand sometime,” Winn said carefully, “and, you know… I just worry.” He gave her a shrug. “That’s just what friends do.” Lena turned her head to the side, now giving him her full attention.

“Friends?” she asked softly.

“Well, yeah… I mean… we’re friends, right?” He gave her a tentative smile while holding up one of his hands in front of his chest while making a fist.

Lena wasn’t exactly sure how to make friends; she’d never really had all that many. She was still pretty sure, though, that blackmail was an unusual way to come by them. She looked at the man’s fist for a moment. She probably shouldn’t. The man was still a walking landmine when it came to the keeping of her secret. Plus, it didn’t really befit a CEO. And there were still potential witnesses around…

What the hell.

She silently raised her hand and brought their knuckles together in a timid fist bump. Winn grinned his silly smile and even Lena couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching up ever so slightly as they both returned to looking at the few people that were still there. Lena Luthor had just fist-bumped someone. She felt incredibly silly, before being hit by a small sense of guilt for calling Kara her only friend in National City. Lena Luthor now had two friends. The world was a crazy place. “So,” she said, eager to move past the awkwardness, “did James say anything to you? Do you think the newspaper helped him at all?” Winn let out a nervous laugh. “Ha… It did more than just help” he said, while looking slightly worried “I think it actually pushed him too far.” Lena looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he’s been sort of… reckless, to say the least.” Winn scratched his neck nervously. “I don’t think James would want me to tell you all the details…”

“You don’t have to” she said reassuringly. “Everyone’s entitled to their secrets, I guess.”

“Yes, well… I’m just worried, you know. What if he goes and does more stupid things?”

“Well, I suppose you’ll just help him then, right?”

Winn turned his head back towards her seeming slightly surprised. “I mean,” she said “you’ve been trying to help me, and most of the time I didn’t even want you to.”

Winn let out a long sigh as he looked at James again, who was talking to the few people who had minor injuries. “You’re probably right… Yeah... Yeah, I’ll help him.” He sighed again as apparently helping his friend seemed like it would be quite a task. She wondered what he could possibly be doing that had Winn so worried.

“I guess that’s really all I can ask for.”

Lena snapped her head towards her other side to see Jimmy standing there, who had apparently heard everything. He smiled widely as he looked between Lena and Winn. “Really?” Lena asked with surprise. “That’s all you think he needs?” Winn shot her a confused look. “What’s… is Jimmy back?” Lena nodded silently as she kept looking at the ghost in front of her. “Yes,” Jimmy said softly “I think that’s exactly what he needs. He’s not scared anymore. And if he goes too far… his best friend will be there to help him.” He looked from Lena to Winn again as he seemed almost to be proud of the duo in front of him. Slowly, there was light starting to seep through his skin. “Thank you… and tell Winn thanks too.” Lena’s breath hitched in her throat as the light got gradually stronger while Jimmy turned to look at James one last time with a serene smile on his face. “Is everything okay?” Winn asked. “What’s happening?” Lena inhaled sharply, before telling him what was going on. “He’s… passing on.”

“Passing on?” Winn asked. “You mean, like… a tunnel with light at the end?” Lena gave a watery smile while still looking at Jimmy as she tried her best to describe what she was seeing. “No, it’s more… he’s turning _into_ light.” She watched as the light slowly moved over the man’s body. “It’s like it’s coming from inside him” she said as Jimmy’s face gradually disappeared behind the glow. “It’s growing brighter and… it’s like it’s moving. Almost… covering him up, I guess.” She kept her eyes fixed on the scene before her, as the figure of Jimmy Olsen was now completely enveloped by the light. “Now the light is… splitting up. It’s just… separating into smaller pieces.” She let her eyes go over every single glowing orb as they slowly floated away from each other, before they came to a stop and just stayed still, remaining suspended in the air. “They’re fading” she said, as she watched the lights slowly grow weaker. They slowly kept dimming, and dimming, until there was nothing left; not a single trace remaining of Jimmy Olsen’s presence. She kept staring at the place where one of the glowing lights had just disappeared as she smiled weakly. “He’s gone now.”

She felt Winn carefully placing his hand on her left shoulder, as if he was afraid she’d break if he squeezed to hard. “Are you alright?”

She turned to face him and shot him a reassuring smile. “Yes… I’m fine. It’s not the first time I saw that happening.” She took a deep breath and looked over towards James, wondering how he’d overcome his life-long fears in a matter of days. Was she really capable of influencing people that drastically? Maybe not… Maybe Jimmy just needed to believe it to be true. Maybe the knowledge that Winn would be there for him had helped, too. “I guess it’s _your_ job to make sure he stays safe now” she said as she looked back at the man beside her. Winn groaned dramatically while shooting a glance towards his friend on the other side of the dance floor. “Yeah, that could get… time-consuming” he said. “And _you_ ,” he pointed an accusing finger at Lena “no more reckless shenanigans either, alright? No more throwing parties just to catch a bunch of petty thieves.”

“I can’t promise that.”

Winn sighed, but was still smiling. “Alright, just… promise you’ll at least _try_ to be careful?” Lena felt the corner of her lips twitch as she tried to suppress a smile. “Do, or do not” she said, “there is no try.” Winn’s eyes grew wide, as a comically large grin started to form on his face. “You watched Star Wars!” Lena lost the battle against her facial features as she too, started grinning. “I did.” Winn bounced on his feet in excitement. “So? _So?_ ” he said while nudging her with his elbow, “what did you think?!” Lena ducked her head ever so slightly. “Well...” She tried to think of a fair and objective way to describe the fourteen hours of film she had accidentally marathoned in a single night. She decided there was no point in denying the obvious. “…they’re the greatest movies ever made.” Winn nodded in approval with his grin still in place. “I know, right?! I mean, obviously I’ve been a fan all my life. At first I was actually worried that making episode seven was a bad idea, but-” His rambling was stopped by Lena, who roughly grabbed his arm while her expression turned incredulous. “Wait…” she said while her wide eyes searched the man’s face for any sign of deceit “… _there’s an episode seven?!_ ”

“Of course! Do you live under a rock or s-”

“Ms. Luthor…”

Two heads turned to the side to see Jess, neatly dressed for the elegant evening, who was looking at Lena with a serious expression. “Could I borrow you for a second?” Lena released her grip on Winn’s arm as she tried to recover from her shock. Clearly this was something important, so she needed to focus but… _holy shit, there was another Star Wars movie!_ “I’m sorry Winn, I have to…” she gestured towards Jess as she started to walk away. “Yeah, sure, no problem.” Winn gave an awkward wave as he walked away, presumably to talk to James, while Lena accompanied her assistant to a secluded corner. “Is something wrong, Jess? You seem worried.”

“Ms. Luthor… when you hired me you told me that it was a good thing that I wasn’t scared to speak my mind.” Lena just nodded as Jess was still looking at her intently, although she still seemed slightly nervous. “Well, in that case… I need to tell you that what you did tonight was very brave…”

“Thank you, but-”

“…and also very stupid.” Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I mean… there’s already so many people who are trying to hurt you.” Her assistant now had more of a pleading look in her eyes. “Aliens, your own family, _reporters_ …” Lena clenched her jaw, not willing to listen to another lecture about how reporters were only ever after a good scoop and how it was a _very_ bad idea to give one of them unlimited access to your office. “…why would you actually try to attract criminals?! It’s just way to dangerous, Ms. Luthor!” Lena gave the worried woman a smile. “I appreciate your concern, Jess. Really, I do.” She hoped she was expressing just how much she meant it, considering the last person who’d been this concerned about her well-being was now serving multiple life-sentences. “But I did what I needed to do. Someone had to stop those thugs and I had the means to do it.” She glanced over her shoulder at the place where Jimmy Olsen had just disappeared. “You can’t live in fear…”

She looked back at Jess, who still looked very concerned. “You don’t need to worry about me, Jess, I can take care of myself.” She smiled at her assistant who apparently wanted to say something, but she stopped her; “It’s getting late,” she said while glancing at her watch “why don’t you go home? I’m sure the cleaning squad can manage this by themselves.” Jess still looked unsure and her extended worrying really touched her, but she didn’t need a babysitter anymore. She was the leader of L-Corp and if she wanted to take risks, that was her choice to make. “Alright… well… goodnight then, Ms. Luthor.” As Jess walked past her she apparently couldn’t refrain from giving one last message. “Be safe.”

Lena smiled to herself as she heard the sound of Jess’ heels grow fainter. Back in Metropolis, this would’ve been unthinkable. Two different people had voiced their concern for her in the span of a few minutes. Not to mention, she wasn’t afraid of ghosts anymore. Well, maybe a little, but she had it under control. She hated to admit it but maybe, just maybe, she was starting to like it here in National City.

“Lena!”

Oh… she knew that voice. She turned around at an impressive speed to unveil Kara Danvers, who was walking up to her while smiling radiantly. “Oh, good, you’re still here. I was worried you might have left, but I just had to make sure that Winn and Mike were okay first, and- Oh gosh! Not that you’re not important too, it’s just-” she laughed nervously as she adjusted her glasses like she always did. “I just already saw you weren’t hurt and then I couldn’t find them and-”

“It’s okay, Kara, breathe.” She smiled as she watched the blonde reporter give another nervous chuckle. She realised that she should probably take her own advice, as her lungs had apparently forgotten how to process air the second Kara had told her she was important. She was important to Kara Danvers. _Breathe Lena!_

“So are you here to tell me I’m stupid as well?”

Kara’s face switched from a gentle smile to a look of profound indignation faster than a speeding bullet. “What?! Of course not! Who would say that?! You’re not stupid, you’re like… the smartest person I know.” Lena could only stare in awe at the unabashed protectiveness Kara was exuding.

“It’s okay Kara, they meant well.”

Kara huffed forcefully as she still seemed offended that someone would insult Lena’s intelligence. “Well, I still think you shouldn’t invite them to your parties anymore.” Lena laughed as Kara once again readjusted her glasses. “Anyway, I just… I thought I should tell you that what you did tonight was really great.” She smiled nervously, while Lena had to once again remind her lungs to do their job. “I mean, it would’ve been pretty dangerous without Supergirl but… you just think of everything, don’t you?”

“Well… I _am_ a Luthor.”

“Yes,” Kara nodded as her eyes turned more serious and her smile thinner, “and you’re a good person.”

If her lungs were sleeping on the job, then apparently her heart had decided to make up for it by suddenly starting to beat excessively fast. Winn had told her he was her friend and the ghosts she had helped had all thanked her with grateful smiles on their faces. But Kara telling her that she was good, just made it seem so… real. “Well, I’m glad there’s at least one person in National City that thinks so.” Lena tried to say it with a sense of levity, but she couldn’t prevent some sadness from slipping into her voice. It was as if Kara’s presence always forced her to be honest, somehow. “They’ll catch on, Lena,” the reporter said with an encouraging smile, “I’m sure of it.”

Lena was never one to be optimistic. She’d always learned to prepare for the worst, because that’s what would probably happen anyway. But she could almost believe it this time. Kara’s eyes never lied, and when she said it with so much conviction, it was almost as if she could count on the people learning to trust her. Kara’s head suddenly snapped to look behind her as if she’d heard something before turning back. “I’m sorry, Lena, but I really have to go now.” She gave her an apologetic smile. “I’m sure we’ll see each other soon?” Lena just looked fondly at the reporter in front of her. “I’m counting on it.” After flashing another one of her bright smiles, Kara walked away, disappearing as quickly as she’d gotten there.

Lena sighed as she took another look at what was left of the gala. There were only a handful of people remaining and she figured she should probably get going as well. Jess had already brought the black body field-generator back to her private lab earlier, so there was really nothing left to do here. She started walking towards the exit of the plateau suspended in between two buildings. It was definitely a curious venue for a fundraiser, but after realising that Supergirl had to be there, she thought it important that the gala was accessible to flying entities. As she approached the entrance of one of the buildings she started to realise that today could have hardly gone any better. She’d neutralised dangerous alien weaponry, she’d collaborated with a Super, she’d raised more than enough money to repair the children’s hospital, she’d helped Jimmy move on much faster than expected, she’d officially made a new friend and Kara thought she was important. And a good person. Lena smiled to herself as she couldn’t remember ever having a perfect day. There was nothing that could ruin her mood for the foreseeable future. Nothing except-

Lena slowed down as soon as she stepped into the building. Her smile disappeared as her eyes came to rest on the only person that could tarnish a day like this. Mona Smith was leaning against a pillar with her arms crossed and stood upright upon seeing her. She approached Lena with that condescending smirk plastered on her face and Lena couldn’t help but wonder how much it would cost to hire a hit-man. “That was quite an eventful evening, Ms. Luthor.” The woman came to a stop in front of her and looked her up and down once. “I take it you didn’t sustain any injuries?” Lena called on all her self-restrained to keep her poise. And her dignity. “You were not invited” she said matter-of-factly. “I wasn’t,” the woman said as she stepped passed Lena to gaze at the mostly empty plateau “but I know some people who were.” She turned around, her eyes fixing on the young CEO again. “The way you were able to stop those alien weapons was very… impressive.” She paused for a moment while Lena appreciated the irony of Mona Smith giving her something that resembled a compliment. “I can imagine this kind of technology would bring in quite the revenue for L-Corp.”

There it was. The woman wanted anti-alien devices on the market. She should have known that the distrust over her detection device was only about the restrictions she was putting on the sales. It seemed like she had discovered what Mrs. Smith and whomever had hired her were after, although she still wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Luckily, the woman had shown cracks in her confident exterior the last time they’d spoken, and now she might be able to see them again.

“I am not putting this technology up for sale.”

The older woman’s smirk slowly faded as her gaze almost pierced through Lena. There it was; this was what was important to her. “And why is that, Ms. Luthor?” Lena looked back, feeling more secure with the knowledge she was zeroing in on the woman’s motivations. “When I took over the company, I discontinued the production of every last weapon, dangerous chemical and any other kind of technology designed for warfare. I’m not about to go back on that.”

Mrs. Smith quirked an eyebrow, her signature smirk still nowhere to be found. “Even though it could make L-Corp a fortune? Despite the fact that it disarms people and therefore isn’t technically a weapon?” Lena let out a laugh that could be considered evil, where it not that the personification of it was staring her in the face. “The  kryptonite suit that my brother used to fight Superman, was _technically_ clothing. I’m not here to lose my principles over technicalities, Mrs. Smith.” Her smile faded as she looked at the woman with a stone cold glare and lowered her voice to a menacing tone. “My company does not engage in the funding of war. And as long as I’m here, it never will.” Mrs. Smith’s eyes seemed to widen ever so slightly at her last statement but otherwise she stayed completely rigid. “So you don’t think that there will be people that might take an interest in this technology?” the older woman asked. “For example, the people in black that always show up wherever Supergirl does? What happens when they come knocking on your door?”

“If there’s a government agency that wants my technology, they can develop it for themselves. If they want my prototype they can have it, but L-Corp will not be held responsible for its use.” Lena lifted her chin up and gave the woman one last look. “If you have any more obsolete questions, you can ask them at another time,” she said as she started to turn around, “but my work here is done.” Lena didn’t look back as she walked out of the room and further into the building, where she took the stairs past the two floors to get to the lobby. She took long strides as she walked out of the door, perhaps feeling a little smug that she’d finally gotten the last word with the woman. More importantly, though; she had a mission. She took a right and started walking towards the L-Corp building. She could’ve probably asked Jess to mail her what she needed but she’d just sent her home and Lena was feeling such a rush of adrenaline going through her, that she didn’t mind walking the few required blocks. Mona Smith had slipped up. It wasn’t just the indications towards her interest in anti-alien technology; facial expressions weren’t exactly hard evidence, after all. It was one of the first things she’d said that was important: _she knew some people at the gala_. Lena grinned as she approached her building, because she was about to narrow down the suspects. Once she retrieved the guest list, she would find out which board members had attended the fundraiser.

Which board members would now be suspected, of wanting to bring back the old days…

 

 

* * *

* * *

  

 

Lillian Luthor took long, calm strides through the lobby of the large building on Cordova Street. Probably due to the late hour, there weren’t many employees left on the floor. The ones that were still there, however, whispered softly to each other and some even dared to shoot a glance in her direction as she made her way towards the main entrance. She supposed her reputation as a ruthless scientist preceded her. Then again, she considered, they could also just not be used to seeing an intimidating woman strut around the building. Lena had definitely grown to be smart, but she never quite grasped the concept of using fear to your advantage. She was an outstanding student in every subject that could be learned out of a book but she never understood, or _wanted_ to understand, the value of making someone cower in your presence. Or how to command a room with just the hint of a glare. Her daughter was weak in that regard. Lena may have learned to use sarcasm and detachment as a method to keep her at an arm’s length over the years, but she could still see the shadow of a pleading look in her eyes whenever they talked. It was the same look she would get when she was just a little girl; when she would realise that her attitude had earned her an educational punishment. It was a look of vulnerability, one Lillian couldn’t stand and one that a _real_ Luthor would never show, as Lena’s eyes would go wide, silently begging her to not resort to using the old leather belt. As the oldest Luthor stepped out of the revolving doors and onto the sidewalk, she turned around to take a look at the lower floors of the building. Somewhere in those labs was the isotope she needed, the one that only L-Corp produced; isotope 454.

Her daughter hadn’t exactly responded to her questioning on the research she was conducting. She probably shouldn’t have expected to extract something out of her so easily, even if she did play the mother card. Lena had many inadequacies, but she wasn’t stupid. Although she _did_ make appalling decisions at times, like the decision to have friendly late night conversations with none other than Supergirl. Apparently she must have forgotten about the simple principle that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Lillian could feel the rage brewing inside of her while making her way down the stairs to the underground parking lot, as she remembered the sight of Lena standing next to that danger to humanity. Apparently Lex being imprisoned because of an alien wielding god-like powers, wasn’t enough to stop her from treating the Kryptonian like something other than a menace that needed to be stopped. As Lillian stepped closer to her car, she noticed that someone had the audacity to be leaning against the side of it. “You might want to step away from my vehicle if you don’t want to get in trouble,” she said in a cold and menacing tone as she approached the figure, “or do you not know who I am?”

The person’s face was hidden from her view, as the nearby pillars casted ghastly shadows in the poorly lit garage area. The individual lifted their shoulders from the car and slowly stepped out of the shadows, seemingly unfazed by Lillian’s menacing tone. “Oh, I know who you are, Mrs. Luthor” the person said calmly, as they stepped through a streak of neon light. The hooded figure stepped up closer, clearly not intimidated in the slightest by being in Lillian Luthor’s presence.

 

“And I believe you, and your cause, could use my help.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lena unwittingly helped James become the Guardian and yes, she invited Supergirl because she was worried about Kara. That last one is canon and no one can convince me otherwise.
> 
> Next week: One mystery is resolved, while another one arises


	6. Lionel Luthor - part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During and after 2x08 
> 
> (flashback during 2x04)

_Thanksgiving Day, 2016_

 

The skyline of National City was brightened by a thousand glowing lights that were coming from the upper floors of its taller buildings. As it was almost December, the cold had finally settled in and anyone who was walking outside could see their breath forming small clouds when they exhaled. Even at this hour though, Lena Luthor was not out in the cold air, getting herself home. She was still in her office, looking out over the city; looking through the glass door leading to her balcony. The same door that Supergirl had stepped out of not too long ago, before flying off into the sky.

It wasn’t as if she still deluded herself with images of her mother suddenly caring for her. It wasn’t as if she was still eight years old, hoping that her next report card would illicit a compliment or any kind of positive response from the woman. She knew that Lillian Luthor was a cold and distant parent and she knew now, that that wasn’t exactly a normal thing. But despite being saved by Supergirl minutes earlier, when afterwards the superhero had barged in and had accused her mother of being the leader of Cadmus, she could almost feel the paranoia bubbling up inside of her. Maybe it was just the symbol on her chest. That symbol that had  driven her brother into madness, and was decorating the chest of a Super standing in the middle of her office, while proclaiming her mother to be just as deranged as Lex. It was probably the memories of her brother’s words, telling her that these so-called superheroes would be coming after their family sooner or later. It was probably all that, that had prompted Lena to speak out of fear, instead of reason. It was only minutes after Supergirl had left, that the pieces had started falling into place, forming the horrifying picture she’d hoped never to see.

Her mother had always been Lex’s biggest fan. She’d never been afraid to voice her contempt about the growing stream of other-worldly immigrants entering the country. And she had stood in that very office a few weeks prior, trying to probe for information about L-Corp’s research. The very research that would allow the spreading of the virus that Supergirl had mentioned earlier. The research that her father had warned her many years ago, should never fall into Lillian’s hands. She shivered at the memory of her eleven-year-old-self trying to defend the woman. You would think that at twenty four years old, a parent disappointing you would not sting quite as badly. Unfortunately, it _did_ sting. Lena wasn’t one to wallow in self-pity, but she had to admit that sometimes it felt like the world was out to get her. She saw dead people, she had a crazy brother and an uncaring mother, she was distrusted by the majority of the city, she was often a target for assassination attempts, the board of directors seemed to be conspiring against her and one of her top scientists, dr. Runnels, had gone missing last week. It might sound childish, but it just wasn’t fair.

“Twice in one day. It’s almost like we have a real mother-daughter relationship.”

Lena didn’t recoil at the voice coming from behind her. She didn’t stagger at the hurtful implication that their lack of any proper interaction was somehow her own fault. Instead, she used the lessons that the very woman had taught her, keeping her poise and her dignity, while setting her plan into motion. She would take the Kryptonian’s advice. If this was going to happen, she would make it happen herself with no one else’s help.

She would be her own hero.

 

* * *

 

 

It was well past midnight when Lena stepped out of the doors of the National City Police Department. They hadn’t technically arrested her, but they had questioned her extensively about the evening’s events, despite the fact _she_ was the one who had called them in the first place. They had wanted to know every detail about the launching of the missile and they hadn’t been very subtle about their doubts on Lena’s innocence. Obviously her last name still wasn’t doing her any favours. She felt tired and completely drained, which she supposed was a natural reaction to have, when you put your own mother behind bars. She hated the fact that she still cared. That all the years of indifference and condescending remarks hadn’t been enough to give up on the idea of having a decent mother. She supposed that somehow, you just ended up expecting better from your family. Even after they spent her whole life proving they weren’t worthy of her trust. She sighed while pacing down the abandoned street, most of the city probably already sound asleep, as she realised she was going to have to walk all the way home. She refused to be the kind of boss that called her driver out of bed in the middle of the night.

“Lena!”

She looked up in the direction of the voice as she noticed a figure appearing at the end of the street. Her eyes widened as the person was coming towards her at an alarming speed. Jess wasn’t kidding: Kara was _really_ fast. The woman slowed down at the last minute, coming to a stop in front of the CEO with an extremely troubled look on her face. “Lena! How long were you in there? Isn’t it, like, almost 1 AM? Are you alright?” Lena looked on in astonishment at the young reporter, who was looking over her with a small frown. “I’m fine Kara, how did you even know-”

“Well, good, because you’re in big trouble!”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as Kara folded her arms and gave her a curious look. Was she… Was she angry right now?

“I can’t believe what you just did! Why didn’t you tell anybody what you were planning? You were-”

“Wait…” Lena said slowly “…how do you even know that _anything_ happened?”

Kara seemed to be taken off guard as she opened and closed her mouth a few times, seemingly not knowing what to say.

“What… I… Well, you know… I’m- I’m a reporter! I… you know, investigate… and… stuff.”

Lena’s eyebrows rose even further, as a small smile was forming on her lips. Kara huffed out in frustration as she dropped her arms to her side. “Fine! Supergirl told me what happened.” Lena couldn’t help but chuckle at the woman’s complete inability to be secretive. Here she was; mere hours after putting her mother in prison and she was chuckling. Thus was the miracle of Kara Danvers. “Hey! This is not funny!” Kara scrunched up her face causing a small crinkle to appear on her forehead. “Why would you pretend to side with Cadmus? I was- I mean… S- Supergirl was really worried.” Lena just looked fondly at the sweet person in front of her. “You seem pretty upset yourself” she said in a teasing tone. “Of course I am! You can’t just scare people like that, you- you-” she seemed to swell up with anger as her eyes darted back and forward, seemingly looking for a proper insult. Was Kara Danvers even capable of insulting someone?

“…you _dummy_!!” The reporter released a deep breath while looking slightly satisfied, almost as if she’d just said something extremely rough, but necessary.

Lena couldn’t help herself. She started laughing. Very loudly. Kara looked on in bewilderment as Lena kept wheezing for air. Maybe it was just the irony. After having posed as a genocidal alien-hater, she was now being berated in the most child-like manner possible. Maybe it was just the absurdity of someone not expecting her to be evil in the first place. “I’m- I’m-” she forced out in between diminishing bursts of laughter “I’m a _dummy_?” Kara just looked at her, seemingly offended at the mocking of her very serious insult. “Yes! A giant dummy!!” Lena stifled another oncoming fit of laughter, managing to reduce it to a series of inelegant snorts. “Why did you pretend to go along with your mother’s plan?! Couldn’t you’ve just told Supergirl wat was going on?” Lena took a moment to regain her composure before responding. “Well, Ms. Danvers, we’re not all so lucky to have a direct line with Supergirl” she said while smirking at the woman, who still seemed slightly upset. “When you grow up as a Luthor, you’re basically trained to be able to deceive people, Kara,” she turned more serious now as a tint of sadness coated her voice “I thought I’d put that ability to good use for once.”

“But you still could’ve-”

“Forgive me Kara,” she interrupted, “but Supergirl isn’t exactly known for her subtlety.” Kara seemed to want to protest, but Lena continued; “Besides, she told me herself to ‘be my own hero’.” Lena smiled wryly as Kara’s last bit of anger seemed to slowly fade away. “When everyone around you keeps disappointing you, there’s not much else you can do, right?” Kara was now looking at her with eyes that almost seemed to pity her, and Lena decided she didn’t like it. She loved that the reporter was always an open book, that she was always as honest as her blue eyes, but she didn’t need anyone’s pity but her own. “It’s pretty late, and I have to start heading home-”

“Can I walk with you?”

Lena gave her a surprised look. “It’s a pretty long walk.”

“Well… how about I just tag along until we reach my apartment? Are you going this way?” Kara pointed behind her, towards the end of the street she’d come running from earlier.

“I guess that would be alright” Lena said slowly. “You don’t live that far, right?”

Kara shook her head as they both started walking, heading in the direction of the street corner. “So, how did you find out where I live, anyway?” Kara asked curiously. Lena nervously cleared her throat while avoiding the eyes of the woman next to her. “I, um… have my methods.” Kara let out a chuckle as she could see the reporter adjust her glasses out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t like lying to Kara. And technically she hadn’t. She just thought that it would be best to not bring up her friendship with Winn, since that would lead to her having to lie about how they met. Because she was _definitely_ not telling Kara that she had blackmailed one of her friends. Not to mention the detail about her being able to see ghosts. If the idea of being considered crazy didn’t already send shivers down her spine, then the thought of Kara thinking she was insane was more than enough to give her nightmares. “You knew something, didn’t you?” Lena said as she looked over at the reporter. “That’s what that interview was about. You knew my mother was up to something.” She turned her head to face Kara, noticing the woman was looking apologetic. “I… I did. I’m so sorry,” she started gesticulating wildly with her hands as she frantically gave her an explanation, “it’s just that I wasn’t sure yet, and I just kept hearing Snapper -he’s my boss- in my head, yelling about journalistic integrity and not compromising your sources and-”

“Kara, it’s fine.” Lena smiled reassuringly at her friend, who seemed to calm down after noticing the absence of any anger on the CEO’s face. “I understand you have a job to do, it’s okay-”

“But it’s not okay! I really wanted to tell you, honestly, but… I was just busy… you know investigating, and… I would have told you eventually, I promise-”

“Kara, honestly” Lena shook her head with a small smile on her face “you can stop apologising. What’s important is that I _did_ find out. There’s no shame in getting beaten to the punch by Supergirl. She’s pretty fast, you know?” Considering the speed Kara had come running towards her earlier, she would have to assume the superhero was the only one who would be able to outpace her. “You know, speaking of Supergirl,” Kara said softly “I’m sure she didn’t mean that you have to do everything on your own.” Lena looked over at the blonde woman who was giving her a tentative smile. “I know that even _she_ has a lot of people helping her out.” Lena let out a humourless laugh as they took a turn into an adjacent street. “Yes, well, I guess when you’re a Super, people are eager to have your back.”

“Hey…,” Kara stopped them in their tracks by gently tugging on Lena’s hand, stepping up closer so they were face to face, “…I have your back.”

Lena took a deep breath as she looked at the sincerity in Kara’s eyes. Those eyes that never lied and that were now telling her that someone cared for her. She could feel her heartbeat pick up as she felt Kara’s hand gently squeeze her own, as if to tell her that everything would be alright. And who was she, to disagree with those honest eyes? Screw Supergirl and her god-like powers and her ability to fly. There was only _one_ angel in National City, and she was standing right in front of her, nervously adjusting her glasses. “Are you alright?” Kara asked, as a concerned look appeared on her face. “You look pale… Did you not eat enough at dinner? Because sometimes people do that, you know?” Lena laughed at the sudden change of topic as she tried to force her heartbeat to slow down to an acceptable rate. “I didn’t actually eat tonight. It’s usually my lunchbreak that gets skipped, but tonight-”

“WHAT?”

Lena jumped ever so slightly at the sudden noise as Kara released her hand and looked at her, seemingly horrified. "Lena! You can’t just skip meals like that. Humans- I mean, everybody needs to eat!” Lena was slightly stunned by the woman’s sudden concern for her eating habits. “Come on, Kara, everybody skips lunch sometimes-”

“I don’t!” Kara seemed almost offended at the suggestion that meals could be skipped whenever necessary. “Food is very important!”

Lena was highly amused by this new development. Then again, Kara always seemed to find new ways to surprise her. Kara was now muttering to herself while she was rummaging through her pockets, apparently looking for something. “Here!” Lena looked on in surprise at the object being shoved in her hands. “You-” Lena carefully examined Kara’s face for any sign of humour “you want me to eat your phone?”

“No, silly, I want you to put in your number.”

She just kept looking at Kara with a questioning look. “That way I can text you tomorrow,” Kara explained, “and I can make sure you eat lunch!”

“You want to… get lunch together?”

“Yes, if- if that’s alright?”

Lena didn’t know why, but this seemed like a big deal. Maybe because she’d never had any proper friends. Maybe because the only time she would talk to Winn, was when she needed something from him. Maybe because the only other person that she might consider a friend was on her pay roll. That’s probably why she felt nervous; why her heart seemed to be beating too fast. Because even though friends probably did this sort of thing all the time, Lena was definitely in uncharted waters right now. Yes, that’s why she felt nervous. She smiled as she started typing her number into Kara’s phone. “You know, I’m not usually able to get away for that long” she said, as she gave the woman a teasing smirk. “Even for things as important as food.” Kara waved her hand dismissively while taking her phone back with the other. “Oh, that’s okay. I can just bring something to your office-”

“Ms. Luthor…?”

Lena looked over Kara’s shoulder as the reporter turned around to identify the source of the voice. Jess was stepping closer very slowly, her eyes darting between the two women with a suspicious look on her face. “Jess, what… what are you doing here?” Lena stepped up next to Kara as her assistant came to a stop in front of them, still looking from one to the other as if she thought that something very suspicious was going on. “I was just at the Police Station, but… they said you already left.” She squinted her eyes at Kara which caused the reporter to shift uncomfortably under her gaze. “I don’t think Ms. Luthor is ready to talk to the press right now, Ms. Danvers…”

“What?! No…” Kara shook her head fiercely before looking back and forward between Lena and her assistant. “I was just worried! You know, as… as a friend.”

“It’s really fine Jess,” Lena added, “I was just walking home when-”

“You’re not walking home.”

Lena gave her assistant a surprised look before frowning in confusion. “I’m not?” she questioned while quickly glancing beside her. “No,” Jess said without taking her eyes off the reporter, “there’s a bus that passes not too far from here. If you hurry, you can still catch it.”

“Oh, I- I don’t… actually know where-”

“I’ll show you where it is” Jess immediately interjected.

Her assistant was still looking at Kara. It almost seemed like she was trying to burn a hole through the woman by giving her a valiant imitation of one of Lena’s glares. The reporter shifted nervously before turning towards the CEO. “Oh, okay. I’ll… I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Before Lena knew what was happening, she suddenly found herself being hugged by Kara Danvers. Oh, god… Kara was hugging her. What did… oh… wait, she needed to hug back. Lena had barely brought her arms up when Kara already stepped away, breaking the contact and smiling gently before walking away. “Bye…” Lena just looked on, forgetting to say something, as the woman walked towards the end of the street before disappearing around the corner. She didn’t notice her assistant  looking after Kara as well, albeit with a much less friendly look on her face. “Ms. Luthor… the bus…”

“Right… yes…”

She cleared her throat as she turned around to follow Jess, who lead the way. She smiled to herself as she tried to remember the last time she had hugged someone. “Are you alright, Ms. Luthor?” Lena looked to her side, noticing that Jess looked sincerely concerned about her. “I’m fine, Jess,” she said, “you really didn’t have to come all the way to the NCPD.”

“Yes, well… I worry.”

Lena’s smile grew wider, as she thought that maybe she shouldn’t be that mad about all the crazy things that were happening in her life. She’d started to think that it was unfair; how many obstacles life kept throwing in front of her. But after tonight, she had to consider that the positives might just make up for it. Almost… She had Jess, she had Winn, and she had Kara… Yes, the fact that Kara Danvers was on her side probably counted for more than all the people who expected her to be like Lex. “I still think it’s a bad idea to keep talking to that reporter” Jess suddenly said. Lena released a breath through her nose and closed her eyes in frustration. Of course the few people that cared about her couldn’t get along. That would just be too perfect, wouldn’t it? “Her name is Kara,” she said through gritted teeth, “and I believe we’ve had this discussion already.” She could see Jess give her a quick glance before looking ahead again. “I just don’t understand why you’re being so careless,” her assistant said slowly, obviously trying not to upset the CEO, “you used to say yourself, that journalists care less about the truth and more about what will sell more copies.”

“Yes, well, this is different.” Lena hesitated for a moment, almost choking on the words she promised herself she would never say again, before realising that in this case… it was okay.

“I trust her.”

Jess seemed completely floored by the statement as she didn’t say another word. She didn’t explain that the paper she pressed into Lena’s hands was a note telling her where to get off the bus, and how she should walk to get to her penthouse from there. She didn’t even say goodbye as the doors closed and the vehicle drove off, leaving Lena alone with her thoughts once again. She supposed she should be grateful that Jess cared so much, but she would really prefer it if her assistant would open her eyes and see Kara for the harmless ray of sunshine that she was. As the bus started moving faster, she remembered that they’d probably gotten off on the wrong foot straight away, when the reporter had used her uncanny speed to get past the woman.

_“Ms. Luthor, no offence, but what do you think you’re doing?” Lena looked up in surprise from her paperwork at her assistant, who had apparently felt the need to barge into her office unannounced. “Well, I was just about to finish the report on the newest-” Jess furiously waved a hand to silence her in an uncharacteristic display of frustration. “That’s not what I meant! You just gave a reporter the right to come  in here any time she wants. I’m not even allowed to do that!” Lena quirked an eyebrow at the woman. “It didn’t seem to stop you, just now.” Jess huffed out in frustration as she leant forward on the desk, steadying herself with her hands. “I’m serious, Ms. Luthor, this could be very dangerous! I’ve seen you work inhumanly hard to rebuild this company and for all we know, that woman could ruin it all with a single malicious article!” Lena was looking on in disbelief at the sudden gumption displayed by her assistant but she couldn’t help but chuckle at the suggestion that Kara Danvers was planning anything ‘malicious’._

_“Jess, we’re not talking about some washed-up old journalist, looking to make a comeback by writing an incriminating piece on the resident Luthor. Ms. Danvers is just an upstarting reporter, who’s had the courtesy to judge me based on my own actions.” Jess hung her head down as she sighed in frustration. “Of course she would want you to think that! How else would she get you to open up about god knows what, before turning it all against you!” Lena sat up straighter as her voice grew louder and her temper fouler. “I don’t appreciate you insulting my intelligence, Jess. I’m more than capable of judging people’s intentions and I don’t believe that Ms. Danvers would do anything of the sort.” Jess stood upright and crossed her arms as she looked at Lena in disbelief. “But you can’t be sure! Why would you take such a risk? What could you possibly gain from this?!” As Jess’ voice grew louder at every sentence, Lena’s mood grew darker as she slowly stood up from her desk and retorted with matching intensity. “So now I need to ‘gain’ something from everything I do? Is that why you think I funded the children’s hospital? So I could ‘gain’ some positive PR from it!?” Jess shook her head furiously, but with an angry frown still in place and a sharp voice when she spoke. “Of course I don’t think that! But you’re not thinking straight, that woman-”_

_“Enough!!”_

_Lena had now officially shouted at her assistant who seemed taken aback, but still defiant. “I don’t pay you to judge my decisions, Jess!! If I want to give someone unlimited access to my office, I will do as I damn well please!!” She straightened her skirt and tried to lower her voice to a stern tone, despite her anger. “You can go home for tonight. And in the future, I don’t want to hear another word on this matter, understood?” For the first time since hiring her, Lena shot her assistant one of her signature glares, but Jess didn’t falter. She looked slightly hurt, but also clearly still very angry as she gritted her teeth before answering. “Yes, Ms. Luthor.” Without saying another word, she turned around and stormed out of the office before, very unprofessionally, slamming the double doors shut behind her._

 

Lena sighed at the memory as she exited the bus, reading her assistant’s note for directions. She considered that it was probably embarrassing that she didn’t know the way to her own penthouse, but it’s not like she had extra time on her hands to go and explore the neighbourhood. The walk didn’t take long, as she soon found herself at her front door. It was usually not a time she looked forward to; late at night, occasionally heating up a microwave dinner, making sure she got at least _some_ sleep, but always alone. Loneliness wasn’t exactly a problem for her, in fact she’d gotten used to it. But it’s presence was always there; like an invisible weight pressing squarely on her shoulders, reminding her that most people didn’t feel like this; didn’t live like this. However, as she turned the key and swung the door open, she didn’t feel that weight tonight. As the door shut behind her and she flicked the light switch, she was not feeling lonely because she had the memories of a few people caring for her to keep her company. When she made her way through the door of her living room, however, she realised that her memories were not the only company she had. She froze in place, with her fingers still on the handle. She felt her heart hammering away in her chest, but unlike the last time she was faced with this image, it was more out of shock rather than fear. She regarded the man that had his back turned towards her, seemingly gazing thoughtfully out of the window. She didn’t need to see his face to recognise him. She knew all too well who the man was, despite the fact that she hadn’t laid eyes on him in 13 years.

“Father…?”

Lionel Luthor turned around, facing his daughter as a gentle smile spread on his face. “Hello, Lena.”

His face hadn’t changed. It looked exactly the way it did the last time Lena had seen him. She couldn’t seem to coherently form thoughts at the moment. She had seen several ghosts in the past few months. She’d come to terms with the fact that she would have to give them a hand and she was no longer afraid of them since, after helping the few that were aware of her, she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. But the sight of her late father standing in her living room, the man who had died so many years ago, still temporarily left her speechless. And slightly confused. “I… I thought…” Lena swallowed as she fully stepped into the room now and got a closer look at her father “…I thought you’d passed on.” Lionel chuckled slightly as he took in the image of his daughter. “I made a promise, don’t you remember? I promised I would watch over you.” Lena couldn’t avert her eyes but did her best to recollect the long-lost memories of that fateful morning.

Yes, last year she had learned that the things she saw were not imaginary, and that she wasn’t going crazy. But in the twelve years before that, she had done her best to repress the images of the man she thought wasn’t supposed to be there. She’d tried ever so hard to forget what had happened that day; trying to convince herself that she had conjured up an elaborate fantasy due to her shock and that, if she pushed those memories down far enough, it wouldn’t happen again. Thinking back on it now, however, she remembered that the last thing she’d seen before the man had disappeared, was him walking through her bedroom door. He hadn’t emitted light, he hadn’t briefly turned into a static-like blurriness before imploding, he’d simply walked away.

The man was still smiling at her, a clear gleam of pride in his eyes. “You have no idea how hard it was, all these years… Always watching you from a distance, seeing all the things you accomplished…” he swallowed as his eyes glistened in the dim light of the single lamp brightening the room “…but never getting to tell you how proud I was. Always making sure that you wouldn’t see me… I just didn’t want you to go through all that again.” His expression turned to a pained one as he briefly glanced to the floor. “You were so afraid of me, and I just… I didn’t want  to make you feel like that, ever again.” He looked back up at her again while releasing a long breath. “But then you started helping people like me.” His expression returned to one of pride, as he found his smile again. “You pushed through your fear, even if you didn’t want to at first, but now, well… after tonight, I couldn’t stay away.” He stepped closer to her as his expression turned slightly more serious. “I know it wasn’t easy, Lena. I know she’s still your mother, despite everything she has done; to you and to everybody else.” Lena felt her lip starting to quiver as she looked at the man that had been gone from her life for so long, but somehow could still see right through her. “But you did the right thing, Lena. You made a very brave and selfless decision and I’m… I’m so proud of you…”

Lena looked down at the floor as she seemed to have lost her poise and her dignity. She tried to hold it together, but couldn’t prevent a tear from rolling down her cheek. Lionel looked like he wanted to wipe it away but obviously, he couldn’t do that anymore. She took a moment, applying the lessons she would never unlearn despite them being taught to her by Lillian Luthor, and looked up to face her father again. “So, I guess this is it, then” she said as she wiped her face with her sleeve. “This is the part where we say goodbye, isn’t it?” She tried to smile as she still felt tears burning behind her eyes. She had no right to be sad. After all, she had gotten to see her father one last time. He had told her how proud  he was. This was really all she could ask for. The man averted his eyes for a moment before looking back with a very serious expression on his face. “Lena… it’s not over.”

Lena’s smile faded as she gave the man a confused look. “But… mother’s in jail. The research I took… the isotope… you said-”

“Yes, I know.” Her father now had a frown in place as he gave her a pained expression. “At the time, I thought that our research would’ve helped her hurt you. That it would’ve been the only way she could do a lot of damage.”

“But it would have! If she’d gotten the isotope, she would have wiped out all the aliens of National City!”

“I know, but that’s not the point.”

Lena raised her eyebrows, both in confusion and to invite her father to explain himself. The  man looked at his feet as he shifted on them, before carefully, and slowly, speaking again: “The things I told you back then… about what I saw… well,” he lifted his head and looked at her, “tonight, I… I saw it again.” Lena’s face dropped as she regarded her father very closely. “The future hasn’t changed, Lena. I thought it would be over after Lillian got arrested as well, but…” the man’s expression softened, almost silently apologising for not being able to change future events “…I guess she just can’t be controlled.” 

Lena felt a sudden wave of exhaustion come over her. She’d found out that her mother was at the head of a terrorist organisation, hell-bent on destroying all alien life on earth. She had made sure her mother had gotten arrested, she’d endured two and a half hours of non-stop interrogation and her dead father was standing in her living room, after having disappeared more than a decade ago. She should probably feel afraid right now. Afraid that her mother was not going to be stopped by metal bars and that she could potentially one day wreak havoc on the alien population again but right now, she just didn’t have enough energy left to worry about yet another life-altering crisis. There was one thing that was sticking out in the back of her mind, however. Something that had been nagging at her subconscious for more than a year now and that she might be able to resolve tonight.

“These years… that you’ve been dead. Have you… have you talked to other spirits?”

Lionel gave her a confused look before responding. “Well… most of them don’t want to stray too far from their loved ones but… I’ve talked to some, yes.”

“Are any of them like you? I mean… have any of them… seen the future?”

Lionel’s eyebrows shot up as he seemed to understand where this was going. “Not all of them, but yes… a few told me they did.” Lena crossed her arms as she forced her tired brain to keep working. “So… do you know why? Why some of them see these things, while others don’t?” Her father sighed as he gave her a pensive look. “I only have a theory…” Lena looked at him intently, urging him to continue. “I think that… we only see something if… if our loved ones…” he paused for a moment, seemingly looking for the right words “if something tragic happens to them.” Lena frowned as  she thought back to the events of last year. The images that Jess’ father had described to her could certainly be classified as ‘tragic’. But if that was truly the deciding factor… If Lionel would come to this conclusion…

“I need you to tell me.” Lena steadied herself before looking at her father with a serious expression. “I need you to tell me… _exactly_ what you saw.” The man averted his eyes as they darted through the room, his face showing signs of concern. “Lena, I… I don’t think… I mean, I’m not sure if-”

“Dad…” Lena spoke softly as she looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes “please…”

 

Lionel took his time before responding. He looked at her for what seemed like forever, before letting out a long sigh as he hung his head slightly downward. He closed his eyes and frowned for a moment, before looking up at Lena again, as he seemed to reluctantly agree to answer her question. “There was panic and… people were running and screaming… the whole city seemed in chaos. I didn’t realise it all those years ago, but it was National City.” He shifted nervously as he continued. “I saw moments, like… flashes of certain things that…” he let out another sigh, as he seemed to struggle to find the right words. “First, I saw you. You were kneeling on the ground, in the middle of the street. You were looking down and… you were crying… Your mother, she…” he took a deep breath as he forced himself to continue “she was standing several feet behind you… and she was laughing. She just stood there looking at you and she was laughing.” Lionel’s expression turned bitter as he looked to the side, seemingly trying to control his anger. As he looked back at Lena, however, his eyes turned sad again. “Then you were somewhere else. It looked like it was indoors, but I’m not sure. It seemed like… you were looking up at something. You were still crying and then…” The man let out a long breath as his eyes were starting to well up with tears. “I didn’t see who it was… I only saw your face, but someone… someone put a gun to the side of your head.” Lena could feel her throat starting to close up as she suddenly felt a lot more awake than five minutes ago. “You didn’t even look at them, you just kept looking in front of you… you were yelling and… and still crying…” The man was no longer succeeding in controlling his emotions, as more than one tear was making its way down his cheekbones. “And… and then…” he looked at her with a broken expression, one she never thought she’d see from her father, as she could feel a primal fear clawing its way through her consciousness.

 

“Then… they pulled the trigger.”

 

* * *

 

 

The traffic was starting to build up, as people of all ages were making their way to their respective jobs. The large car that was carrying Lena Luthor to her destination had gotten ahead of most of the streets clogging up, which was unsurprising considering the early hour at which it had departed. Now that they were just a few blocks away from the L-Corp building, however, they had become stuck in a long line of cars, moving just a few feet every few minutes. Still, Lena wasn’t stressing about the traffic right now. She was thinking about last night, and in particular, about the reunion with her father and his ominous predictions. It’s not like she wasn’t scared. It’s not like the image of the future that her father had, wasn’t making her very uneasy. Because it was. After all, everything indicated that these ‘visions’, so to speak, were probably accurate. But after sleeping on it she realised something; she had already been in constant danger for months. Ever since John Corben had tried to kill her, she knew that she could be living on borrowed time. So now that there was a new mortal peril awaiting her, she knew that the only thing she could do, was what she’d already been doing for a long time: Not live in fear.  Her father had promised her that he would keep an eye on Lillian. That he would let Lena know the second something suspicious happened or if there was even a remote possibility of her mother escaping. She knew that he was dead and that nothing would ever change that, but she still felt like, in a strange way, she had a father again.

“I’m sorry about the traffic, Ms. Luthor, but we should still make it on time.”

Lena looked up at her driver in the rear view mirror. “Don’t worry about it, Trevor. I don’t have any meetings until noon anyway.”

She looked at her lap as she pulled out her phone. There were no new messages. That was to be expected. After all, she’d checked them just five minutes ago. She didn’t know why she kept checking all the time. I mean, _she knew_ , but it wasn’t logical. It was only 8 AM, after all, and for all she knew, Kara might not be awake yet. She also never said that she would text her first thing in the morning. _Seriously, Lena, just put the phone away._ She was about to do just that, when the thing suddenly buzzed with an incoming call. Lena almost dropped it in her rush to get the device to her ear. After some very inelegant grabbing motions, preventing her phone from tumbling to the floor, she managed to get a firm a hold of it and press the button to respond. If Trevor noticed anything, he very professionally refrained from commenting.

“Hi! Kara-” Lena cleared her throat as she lowered the volume of her voice because, honestly, there was no reason to sound this overjoyed “I didn’t think you’d call this early.”

“Um… It’s Winn, actually.”

“Oh.” The excitement flooded from her voice at an almost comical rate.

“Gee, nice to talk to you too. Anyway, I just wanted to say that when I asked you to be more careful, I did _not_ mean: ‘Go and pretend to join forces with Cadmus, before dramatically turning on them at the last second, while giving everyone involved a heart attack in the process’.”

“Seriously, how could you even know about that? As far as I know, the news has been silent about it.” She couldn’t help but wonder if a Luthor saving the day was just a story people didn’t want to hear.

“Ah, but you forget that I work for the FBI” he said in a smug voice. “It’s kind of our job to know about these things.”

“Really?” Lena smirked, as apparently the FBI had not been able to get all this info before Kara. She was really something else…

“Well, like I told you before,” Lena said, “I can’t promise you that I won’t be doing any dangerous things.”

“Yes, well, as your friend, I can’t promise that I won’t call you out for being an idiot when you do. So… Lena?”

“Yes?”

“You’re an idiot.”

Lena snorted as she tried to supress her laughter because, really, it wasn’t that funny.

“You shouldn’t call people just to tell them they’re an idiot, Winn, especially at this hour in the morning.”

“I’m not, actually. There’s uh… something else I need to tell you.” There was a brief silence as the man seemed to look for the right words. “So, you didn’t hear this from me , but… the D- I mean, the FBI was kind of investigating your mother for a while and… well, since they wanted to be as thorough as possible…” He hesitated again, momentarily leaving the silence hanging in the air “…I kind of hacked you again.”

“Excuse me!?”

“Hey, hey! Hear me out, okay. It was totally out of my hands. Those were the boss’ orders and I like my job, thank you very much. Just to remind you; you never heard about this, especially not from me.”

Lena groaned as she pinched her nose, trying to contain her annoyance. He was right; it wasn’t his fault _personally_ , but the fact that she’d been an official suspect for the FBI, still irritated her to an extreme degree.

“And, hey! Look at the bright side!” Winn gave a small chuckle as he hushed his voice to a whisper. “If you haven’t heard about it by now, that means I didn’t get caught this time. I’m getting better!”

“Okay, I’m hanging up now.”

“Aw, come on… don’t-”

The rest of his sentence was cut off by Lena ending the call, putting her phone back in her pocket. She honestly wasn’t that upset about it. So what if the FBI had suspected her? Apparently she now had a friend within the bureau, who was willing to tell her what was going on behind the scenes. That was probably all the payback she needed.

“We’re here!” Trevor proclaimed. “And just in time, too.”

“Thanks, Trevor,” she said as she stepped out of the car, “good job.”

She saw her driver give her a grin before she shut the door and started walking towards her building. As she walked past Titus and into her elevator, she couldn’t help but pull her phone out again. There were no new messages. Lena felt the urge to call her but, honestly, that would just be rude; it was way too early. She stepped out of the elevator, which had arrived at the top floor, as she kept looking at her phone. “Good morning, Ms. Luthor.” Lena snapped her head up at the sound of the voice. She looked over at her assistant’s desk and suddenly remembered that Jess had a day off. It was long overdue. “Good morning, Alana.” She resumed walking towards her office as her second assistant got up to follow her, pulling up her schedule. Before the woman had a chance to start listing off her duties for the day, however, Lena came to a halt after stepping over the threshold of her office and closed her eyes in frustration. Oh, come on!

By all standards, Alana was a terrific assistant. Any leader of any company in the country would be lucky to have her but around here, she had to live up to the standards set by her cousin. Obviously she couldn’t expect the woman to be as fiercely loyal as Jess was. But as she opened her eyes again, she couldn’t help but be aware of the fact that Jess would never have allowed someone to step into her office before the CEO did. It was just a matter of principle. “Alana, give me about ten minutes. I’ll call you in when I’m ready to go over my schedule.”

“Oh… alright, Ms. Luthor.”

Alana hurriedly stepped outside, making sure the double doors were closed behind her. Lena stepped towards her desk, internally fuming at this woman’s audacity. Mona Smith was standing on _her_ side of the desk while still looking out of the window, as if the CEO of L-Corp entering the room wasn’t something that demanded attention. “I see you’re still not tired of interrupting my daily duties” Lena sneered as she stepped up towards the visitor’s side of the desk. The older woman took her sweet time before responding, something that only fuelled Lena’s frustration, as the woman still hadn’t turned around to face her. The irony of the words she repeated to herself, even after last night, wasn’t lost on her. _Poise and dignity!_

“I was just admiring your view, Ms. Luthor.” Mrs. Smith sighed to herself while still facing the city’s skyline. “You just never know how many more sunrises you’ll get to see.” The woman finally  turned to face her as Lena looked on with a cold glare. She hadn’t been threatened face to face very often, but then again, it wasn’t the first time that Mona Smith had made her feel like she was starring in a remake of ‘The Godfather’. The woman was now facing her fully as the upcoming sun lit up the office from behind her. Her lips curled up in a slightly different variation of her usual smirk. Lena kept her cool by mentally going through the list of board members that had attended the fundraiser gala: Roger Ferris, David Tacker, Thomas Berkley, Alistair Long, Albert Germaine and Gregory Cross. One, ore some of them, were behind these eerie visits and she intended to find out who they were.

“I’m here to apologise to you, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena was temporarily thrown off her game by this new approach. She quickly regained her composure, however, as she gave the woman one of her more intense glares. “Are you, now?” She raised an eyebrow at the woman who was now stepping away from the window and up to the desk. “I wonder what you could possibly be sorry for,” she said in a voice coated with sarcasm. “Well,” the older woman said, “there are some things I haven’t exactly been… honest about. For one; my name is not Mona Smith.” Lena’s face dropped as the woman in front of her was looking at her with no fear, almost looking completely calm. “Secondly; I was not sent by the board of directors.” Lena’s heartbeat started to pick up, as she realised she was on the wrong side of her desk to press the panic button. This wasn’t a mind game anymore, was it? There was only one reason why someone like this would be willingly giving away her secrets and it wouldn’t end well for her. The comparison to a gangster movie suddenly seemed a little too apt as Lena scanned the woman’s body for any place she could be hiding a weapon. “My real name is not important, but-” Lena’s eyes darted to the side, as she silently calculated her chances of getting her gun out of the safe in time “-Superman is my son.” Lena’s eyes shot back as her reasoning suddenly halted. That couldn’t be right, could it?

“When you took your company to National City, I’ll admit I was afraid. I was afraid that you were moving here in order to go after Supergirl. And of course, by extension, you would eventually go after my son, as well.” The woman gave her a sad smile, more genuine than any of the smirks she had previously displayed. “I was afraid you were just like your brother, that you were only taking over this company in order to get rid of the alien population and more importantly; the Supers. That’s why I tried to get a read on you. That’s why I questioned you about some of your more dangerous technology.” Lena was gawking at the woman now, not sure what to say. “But I can see now that I was wrong” the woman continued. “I was wrong to judge you based on your last name. After what you did last night… After you single-handedly saved the entire alien population of this city…” the woman took a deep breath as she looked Lena up and down once “…I believe that you’re not a threat. To my son, or any other innocent life.”

Lena was opening and closing her mouth now, attempting to protest the deception she’d been subjected to. She was supposed to be one of the smartest people on the planet, how could she not have seen this trickery coming from a mile away? This didn’t make any sense. Superman’s mother or not, she would’ve still had to show her ID to even get into the building, right? She still had to go past Titus and all the other measures her team had set in place to keep out intruders. Her security couldn’t possibly be that bad, could it? And even if it was, how did she get to the gala less than an hour after the display of a never-before-seen generator that had been created in complete secrecy, if she wasn’t there with the suspected board members? Lena looked the woman over, trying to figure out which piece of information she needed to demand from her first. She couldn’t find the right question to ask right now, but even if she could have, she wouldn’t have spoken. She still wouldn’t have spoken, because Lena was realising something that made her stomach drop.

The sun was coming up behind the nameless woman, casting rays of light through the balcony window. The sunlight was bright as it illuminated her office, but it wasn’t _that_ bright. There was another source of light filling the room… and it was coming from the woman in front of her. Lena’s jaw dropped as she watched the woman she had known as Mona Smith start to emit dimmed beams of light. The light was coming from within her as it pierced through her skin. The light did not reveal the name of the woman she had met with over the past few months, but it did reveal the fact… that she had not been alive. Lena kept staring on in bewilderment as the light made its way over the woman’s body. Her voice echoed like it was coming from a great distance, as she spoke one last time before the light covered her face. “I’m sorry, Lena. I was wrong.” As the light spread towards the middle of the woman’s torso where it started to melt together, Lena had too many emotions going through her to be able to name them one by one. She watched on with confused feelings as the figure of the middle-aged woman was starting to pull apart, the glow slowly separating into those same orbs that the other spirits had turned into. Despite the rage of emotions going on inside of her, Lena kept her eyes on the scene unfolding before her as the individual specs of light came to a stop and hovered in the air. She didn’t avert her eyes as the orbs just stayed still for a few moments. She didn’t look away when they slowly started to fade. She blinked as little as possible as she watched the lights just dim, and dim. She let her eyes go over every one of them one by one, until finally, there were none of them left. Lena was left alone in her office, confused as to what she should be feeling. She just kept staring straight ahead, where a mysterious woman had just been standing earlier. She blinked to adjust her eyes, as the only light she was left staring at, was that of the rising sun.

 

Martha Kent had just passed on.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_It was dark on the outskirts of National City. There was very little noise, since there was no  traffic passing through the old and abandoned industrial area. Once upon a time it had been the epicentre of the city’s economy, but after the crumbling of LuthorCorp, the buildings serving the production of enhanced weaponry were emptied and shut down. The buildings looked dark and dreary now, the paint fading away on most of them as a ghastly atmosphere surrounded the area. There was a single light coming from one of the buildings, flickering, as it was clearly not fuelled by electricity. Just out on the steps in front of that building, there was a man sitting and regarding his metallic arm, searching it for damages. Cyborg Superman was still fuming that he hadn’t been able to defeat that abomination that had possessed itself of his likeness. Still fuming that Supergirl continued to match his strength, despite all the upgrades in weaponry his body had gotten. And now he was without a plan. Tonight he had been robbed of the brilliant mind of Lillian Luthor, as that brat of hers had managed to get the woman arrested. He was so focused on reliving the memories that were fuelling his anger, that he didn’t immediately hear the footsteps that were approaching him. It took him a moment, but then his head shot up as his robotic eye lit up with blue light, ready to fire. “Who are you? Show yourself!”_

_The footsteps calmly continued to approach, completely unfazed by the cyborg’s threatening tone. As Henshaw looked intently at the darkness in front of him, he could make out a hooded figure steadily stepping closer. “Easy there, Henshaw” the figure spoke “I don’t think your boss would appreciate it if I got hurt.” The Cyborg growled angrily as the mysterious figure stepped closer. “How do you know her?” The hooded figure came to a stop a few feet away, still no face in sight, but a sly grin was barely visible as it  was illuminated by the cyborg’s eye. “I know a lot about Lillian Luthor, as well as her plans. I know that she helped you become what you are today. I know who you have hidden in that building behind you. All you need to know about me, is that I’m on your side. All you need to know, is that I have a way…” The figure closed the distance, coming face to face with the cyborg._

_“…A way to get your boss out of prison.”_

  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who saw the Mona Smith thing coming? Who do you think shot Lena in Lionel's vision? Let me know in the comments.
> 
> Next week: Some unexpected bonding, some expected bonding, and a ghost with a very difficult problem


	7. Samantha Carr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spanning from 2x12 to 2x15
> 
> I don't know why, but in my head Samantha looks like the youtuber sanzorchid

_February 13 th 2017_

 

Lena looked on as the personification of sunshine walked out of her office. Her smile slowly faded, realising that it had been a long time since she’d felt like this. She sat down on the couch and picked up one of the chess pieces from her board, thinking back to one of her earliest memories. She remembered being intimidated by the giant mansion. By all the unfamiliar faces. But there was a friendly boy who had taught her a new game. It turned out she liked the game. And for the first (and only) time in her life, her new mother had told her that she might be a true Luthor which, at the time, had made her feel incredibly happy and completely safe. She’d felt safe, because she had a family again. She hadn’t felt like that ever since. Not until today. Not until after the very woman who had made her feel like this the first time, had used her to get access to advanced weaponry. Not until Supergirl had uttered the words that had brought hope back to her heart: ‘Kara Danvers believes in you.’

So it had been 20 years since she had felt that happy and that protected. But after seeing Kara again just now, and hugging  her tightly, those feelings had come flooding back to her. She put one white knight back on the chess board and looked at the doors of her office, where another had just walked out. Just 24 hours ago, this would have been unthinkable. Just 24 hours ago a detective had walked in here with not one, not two, but _three_ colleagues accompanying her. As if they were going to have to forcefully restrain her. Like she could have done anything after seeing the look on Kara’s face. Those eyes of hers were an open book and she knew what that look had meant. That look, when she had seen the tampered security footage. Which was probably the reason why she’d believed the eldest Luthor, when she’d proclaimed that no one was on her side. Of course her first thought was to yell Kara’s name back at her. Of course her mind went straight to her friend’s honest and understanding looks. But it also replayed the image of the inerasable footage that the whole city would get to see. The image of Kara being convinced by it…

You would think that being arrested, being coerced to join a terrorist organisation and being left to die, would by far be the scariest parts of yesterday’s events. Lena thought, however, that being broken out of prison by someone who had haunted you for several days, was a lot more frightening.

_There were strange noises coming from the hallway. Lena climbed down from her uncomfortable bed and stepped closer to the metal bars of her cell. She peered towards the end of the hall, but couldn’t get a glimpse of what was happening. As she looked up at the mirror hung on the wall, however, she could see flashes of bright green appearing from the offending area. She glanced to the other end of the hall and back again, but the guards who had just been making fun of her were nowhere to be found. There was a loud noise, as if a laser was being fired, and then the noises stopped. As a man stepped in sight and approached her cell, Lena stepped back from the metal door looking horrified. She flinched as John Corben ripped the door from its hinges and threw it to the side like it was nothing. She also felt slightly relieved that he clearly wasn’t a ghost anymore._

_“Hello, Ms. Luthor. Sorry for the delay.”_

_Lena’s eyes widened as she tried to prevent her body from trembling. “You were dead” she muttered weakly. The man grinned devilishly, as she remembered him doing so often, while stepping into the cell. “As it turns out, Ms. Luthor, I was in a coma.” He stepped closer with his grin still in place. “Lillian Luthor was kind enough to bring me back. And to give me some perks, as well.” He glanced down at the glowing green hole in his chest before looking back up again. “Your mother is not a patient woman Ms. Luthor, so you can come with me the easy way,” he roughly grabbed her arm, “or the hard way.” Lena winced in pain at the touch as she realised she didn’t have much of a choice. “What’s the matter, Ms. Luthor? Are you going to start crying again?” Lena’s head shot up, looking at the man’s sadistic grin. He remembered. He remembered everything…_

 

There was no way the man could still be alive. There was no way he could’ve gotten away from that explosion. But if he’d wanted to find her, he would’ve known exactly where to look. So either he was tired of his crusade, which seemed unlikely, or he hadn’t turned into a ghost for some reason. It didn’t make much sense, but she wasn’t complaining about the lack of haunting right now. She could add that to the growing list of things that didn’t bother her, despite not being logical. As she kept staring at the pieces on her chess board, she saw someone sitting down on the table beside of it. She looked up and met her father’s eyes. Her father, who had been there the whole time. Her father, who had tried to tell her that everything would be okay, despite not seeming to believe it himself. He had been forced to watch on, completely powerless, as her mother forced her to open the vault. Completely powerless to stop Cyborg Superman from hurting her. “Are you mad at me?” he asked.

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Mad at you?”

“Yes. For… never telling you. About me and… your birth mother.”

Lena considered the question for a moment. She had to suppress her first instinct. She had to suppress the urge to tell him that, with a wife like Lillian, she wasn’t surprised he had cheated on her. She didn’t say as much, because she reminded herself that it was never okay to do something like that. “When mother told me, I was… but,” Lena took a moment to steady herself, “it’s still not an excuse. Just because she knew… Just because _she_ was mad at you… it still doesn’t justify how she treated me. And besides,” she gave her father a tentative look, “I’m actually… glad. That you’re my father in… you know, every way.” Lionel took a deep breath and looked down at his feet, seemingly trying to contain his emotion.

They sat there for a while, not saying another word, until finally the man sitting on the table spoke again: “I was scared. I really thought that this might have been it. That your mother would actually… what I saw…” Lena frowned as she gave her father a curious look. “You… you really think that it could be her…?” Lionel looked up at her, seemingly surprised by her confusion. “Lena, she… she left you to die last night.” Lena looked away, trying to come up with a response. “I know, but… there’s still a difference. Not helping someone and… actually shooting someone… there’s still a difference.” It sounded like a weak excuse, even to her own ears. She hated that she was still looking for redeemable qualities in the woman, but her father didn’t protest. He stayed silent as he apparently understood that even after this latest stunt… Lillian was still her mother.

“I tried to follow her,” the man said, “but I couldn’t just leave you there, even if I couldn’t do anything. And then when Supergirl flew you away, there was green smoke everywhere and… I couldn’t find her anymore.” He let out a sigh as he stood up, prompting Lena to do the same. “I’m going to look for her. There are a lot of old LuthorCorp properties that are abandoned these days… maybe I’ll be able to find her there.” Lena just nodded in understanding. “I’m glad that you have someone to look after you now” the man said. Lena gave him a confused look. “Someone to look after me?” Her father simply smiled at her. “Yes. Someone like Kara Danvers.” Lena’s entire expression softened as she looked at the white knight on her chess board. “Yes, I’m… I’m happy she’s on my side too.” She kept looking at the chess piece as she thought of the reporter, not noticing her father looking at her with a fond expression. The man cleared his throat, causing Lena to look back up at him as he turned serious again. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find your mother, but…” he shifted  slightly on his feet “…if, at any time, you need me, just call me.” Lena raised one eyebrow at the man. “Call you? And you’d… hear that? And just… appear back here?” Lionel finally allowed himself to smile, giving her a rare glimpse at his good-humoured face. “When you’ve been dead for this long, you pick up a few tricks. Just look down from your balcony.”

“My balc-?”

Suddenly the man fell through the floor, as if a trapdoor had just been opened under him as Lena gasped in surprise. She looked around the room for a while before remembering her father’s strange request. She walked out to her balcony as she scanned the area surrounding her building. As her eyes went over the main entrance, she noticed a figure walking out of it. He looked tiny from way up here, but she still recognised him as her father. The man turned around and gave her a salute with two fingers. Lena couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. It had taken her a long time to figure it out, but apparently her father had a sense of humour.

“Um… Ms. Luthor?”

Lena looked back towards her office, where Jess was now standing, giving her an uncertain look. Lena stepped back inside, closing the balcony door, and sat back down at her desk. “Please tell me there isn’t some sort of emergency. I think I’ve had to deal with enough nonsense for the past few days.” She let out a humourless laugh as she gave her assistant her full attention. “No, no, there’s no emergency. I just um…” Jess cleared her throat, looking very nervous “I wanted to apologise for doubting you.”

“Jess, honestly, it’s fine. There was video proof, for god’s sake. Anyone would have thought-”

“WHAT?! NO!!”

 Lena’s eyes widened as Jess was looking at her, seeming completely offended. “Of course I never thought you would side with Cadmus!” Jess huffed out a breath as she tried to steady herself. “That being said, I really think you should fire your entire PR team, because they were _obviously_ not convinced you were innocent.” Lena looked on in amazement for a while, before coming back to reality. “So… why are you apologising, then?”

“Well, because… I was wrong. About Ms. Danvers, I mean.”

 Lena broke out a wide smile, because she’d really hoped that this day would come. “She obviously cares about you, I mean… she’s definitely smarter than the rest of this stupid city.” Jess shook her head, still appearing offended by the fact that everyone hadn’t immediately dismissed the hard evidence against the youngest Luthor as complete nonsense. “I’m sorry for doubting your judgement. And it won’t happen again.” Her assistant held her hands behind her back and lifted her chin, almost as if she was a military cadet waiting for instructions. “Well,” Lena said, “I’m glad you can see it from my point of view.” She smiled at the woman as she considered how crazy it was that she had two people so unabashedly believing in her. In fact, without Kara sending Supergirl, she would probably be dead or an unwilling participant in Cadmus’ plans by now. She pulled out a small piece of paper as she wrote down an address. “Jess, would you mind ordering another batch of flowers and have them sent to this place?” She gave her assistant the piece of paper, as the woman gave her a knowing smile. “I think the shop might be empty after the last order you put in” Jess responded. Lena chuckled as her assistant took the address. “But I’m sure they’ll be able to get some more by tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Jess. For everything.”

Her assistant smiled at her before turning to leave. Before actually getting too far, however, she stopped and turned around again with a frown in place. “Wait, are you… are you sure it’s okay if they’re delivered tomorrow?” Lena raised her eyebrows at the question. “Why wouldn’t that be okay?” Her assistant’s frown grew deeper. “Well, because… tomorrow, it’s…” Lena kept looking at her with raised eyebrows, having no idea what her assistant was getting at. Jess’ eyebrows suddenly shot up, as if she’d realised something.

“Oh!”

She looked down at her feet, seemingly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I- I didn’t realise…” she cleared her throat, halting her stammering “I’ll… I’ll make sure they get there tomorrow.” With that, she turned around and left the office, leaving Lena wondering what had just happened.

 

The rest of the day passed more quickly than Lena was used to. Back-to-back meetings usually annoyed her to no end, but the knowledge that a few people were in her corner made the struggle to restore the company’s stock after her arrest a little easier. The whole day seemed to go by so fast, that Lena was still smiling when she rode her elevator down to the ground floor. She was still with her head in the clouds when she stepped out of her building, heading to her car to take her home. Her mood quickly changed, however, when she saw a familiar face nervously pacing in front of the entrance.

“Winn…? Are you alright?”

The man’s head snapped back, as he immediately made his way over to her and started talking at a frantic pace. “Oh my god, I’m so, so, so sorry! I know… I know I should’ve known better! But then there was the video footage, and I couldn’t find anything wrong with it! And next thing you know, you’re almost dying and I could only watch! I just-”

“Wait a minute…” Lena held up her hand as she processed the man’s words. He had watched her almost die…? But that meant-

“I knew it!”

Winn seemed slightly stunned by her joyous reaction. Lena looked around to make sure no one was nearby, before lowering her voice to a whisper. “Supergirl works for the FBI, doesn’t she?!”

Winn opened and closed his mouth, while showing all the signs of someone who was caught red-handed. “No- I- that’s not…” Lena kept looking at him with a victorious smirk, as Winn gave up on protesting and hung his head in defeat. “It’s more of a… collaboration. She’s not actually employed by the government, or anything.” Lena let out a laugh at the absurd amount of information she always managed to get out of the man. “Okay,” Winn said, “I should probably stop giving away classified details now, but…” his look turned serious “… I really am sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed you were evil, I… I should have known better.” Lena’s smile faded as she looked at Winn’s sincere expression. “I get it, Winn, you don’t have to be sorry. If people stopped taking this kind of definitive proof seriously, where would that lead us?” Winn sighed as he nodded. “Yeah, but still. I, um…”

He awkwardly stepped closer while looking a little sheepish. Lena gave him a questioning look before Winn closed in and awkwardly gave her a hug. Lena smirked as she patted the man on the back before he stepped away again, looking very self-conscious. “In my defence,” the man said, “before the whole video evidence thing, I actually almost hit James with a pool ball after he suggested you were up to something.” Lena raised her eyebrows as the man gave a small smile. “Anyway,” Winn cleared his throat before continuing, “if you have any more problems of the, you know, paranormal kind, I’m always happy to help.” Lena let out a small chuckle. "Thankfully it’s been quiet on that front,” she said, “but don’t worry, if another one appears I’ll make sure to let you do the dirty work.” Winn gave her one of his silly grins. “Good, because since you didn’t like the whole PALL idea, I’ve been working on some cool new sidekick names-”

“You are not making up another silly name.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get one too! I was thinking something like: ‘The Amazing Afterlife Aider’, or maybe-”

“Okay, I’m leaving.”

“I’ll find one that you like,” he shouted after her, “you’ll see!”

Lena laughed to herself, as she considered that the man was probably more suited to being a stand-up comedian than a federal agent.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena Luthor didn’t believe in jinxes. They were complete and utter nonsense. If she _had_ believed in them, however, she would have blamed the events of this day entirely on Winn. Her morning had started off as usual. She’d arrived precisely on time (Trevor was good at his job). She’d greeted Titus on the way to her elevator (She’d received a sleepy nod in response). And she was now standing outside of her office as Jess went over her schedule. Nothing, apart from the fact that she was kidnapped and almost framed two days ago, seemed out of the ordinary on this Tuesday morning. Until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, that is…

The doors of her office were slightly ajar and it was almost as if she’d seen something move in there. She’d probably just imagined it. As she kept listening to Jess, however, she noticed it again. It was as if a streak of green had just flown through her office. That couldn’t be right, could it? She tried to keep her attention on Jess, but she noticed the strange sight recurring several times, even though she couldn’t figure out what it was. As her assistant finished walking her through her duties and Lena stepped towards the doors, she couldn’t help but remember the green light that Corben had emitted from his chest. It couldn’t be him, could it? There was no reason for him to wait this long, was there? Lena took a deep breath and entered her office.

There was someone sitting on the armrest of her couch. And it definitely wasn’t John Corben. It was a young girl, with dark skin, wearing sneakers and jeans and a striped top that reminded her a lot of one of Kara’s sweaters. She identified the curious green streak that she’d seen earlier as a tennis ball that the girl was throwing at the wall in front of her, letting it bounce back into her hands every time. There was just one problem: the ball wasn’t making any noise. As she glanced back at the doors to make sure they were closed, she realised that Jess would never allow someone to step into her office before her, and certainly not without telling her about it. That left only one option: There was a dead person that needed her help again. She sighed as she stepped closer. At least Winn would be happy. “I see you’ve made yourself comfortable” she said. The girl froze, just as she’d caught her ball, and grinned at her as she stood up from the couch. “So you’re Lena Luthor, huh?”

“I am. And you are?”

“I’m Sam.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re Sam?”

“Yep. Samantha Carr, at your service.” She took a dramatic bow and chuckled as she got back up. “Well, I guess technically you’re at _my_ service, but that kinda sounds weird.”

Lena gave her a small smile as she looked her up and down. “It’s been a while since I’ve been… visited.”

“Oh, yeah. That is totally not my fault. Rafael just kept insisting that I should go first, just like everybody else did! As if I should get preferential treatment just because I’m not a grown-up. It’s just stupid!”

Lena looked on in surprise at the young girl’s offence. “I’m sure they were just worried about you” she said. She remembered how this Rafael and the girl in front of her were the last two people she would have to help. “Maybe he didn’t want to leave a twelve year old by herself?”

“Hey!” The girl swelled up with indignation. “I’m 14!”

“Oh…”

The girl tossed up her tennis ball with an irritated look on her face. “Well, I guess I would’ve been 15 by now, but… I’m not getting any taller since I died. It’s kinda frustrating.” She sighed to herself before continuing. “Anyway, after you got kidnapped and almost died, the guy still refused to go and see you. So I figured I should come talk to you before some crazy person actually manages to kill you. No offence…”

“Don’t worry,” Lena said while smirking, “it sounds perfectly reasonable.” She rounded the table to sit down on her couch, gesturing to Sam to do the same. “So, tell me then. What do you need help with?”

“I need to get my parents back together.”

Lena’s smile disappeared as she blinked several times. “You want to… get your parents back together?”

“Yep.”

Lena tried to formulate a calm response, supressing the urge to call the girl out on the absurdity of her request. “Are you sure… that they would be happier that way?” she asked carefully. “I mean, they wouldn’t have divorced for nothing, right?”

“Of course my dad would be happier! I mean, my mom is not doing _that_ bad but still, her new boyfriend is just…” Sam made a disgusted face, “…ughh!” Lena pinched the bridge of her nose as she could feel a spectacular headache coming on. The girl wanted her to play matchmaker. And break up a relationship in the process. “Look,” Lena started carefully, “just because they broke up doesn’t mean that… they love you any less, or-”

“Don’t patronize me!”

Lena stopped talking, completely surprised by Sam’s interruption. “What do you think this is, some kind of children’s movie?” Sam said. “This is not about me, I just want my dad to stop being so angry all the time.”

Lena sat up straighter, understanding dawning on her. “So,” she started, “this is really about your dad, then?” Sam shifted on the couch before answering; “Well, yeah. I mean he was never a… cheerful person,” she looked down as she plucked at her tennis ball, “but after I died he just seemed to get more miserable by the day. Lately, he’s even been having nightmares.” Lena shifted to sit closer to the girl, as she watched her continue with her story. “He just wakes up in the middle of the night, yelling things like ‘Biased press!’ or ‘Fascists in the White House!’.” Sam sighed as she tossed up her ball a few times. “I don’t even know why he took that stupid job, anyway. Why would he want to try and turn a magazine like _CatCo_ into a respectable news…” she vaguely gestured with her hands while frowning, before snapping her fingers “…outlet! That’s the word!” Lena’s eyes widened as her mind connected the dots. “Wait… your father runs the news team at CatCo?” Sam looked up at her before nodding. “So,” Lena started weakly, “your father is _Snapper Carr_?!” Sam sat up straight while giving Lena a surprised look. “You know him?”

Lena sighed as she hung her head. She had heard countless stories about the man. Kara would always complain about how he was always shooting down her ideas for articles, how she always had to rewrite everything at least ten times and of course, how a smile or a positive comment from the man was about as rare as a snowstorm in the Sahara desert. She was supposed to fix this guy up with his ex-wife? The man who, as Kara put it, was ‘grumpiness in human form’? Lena tried to contain her exasperation. “I don’t know him personally, no. He’s my friend’s boss.”

“Really? Which one’s your friend?”

Lena quirked an eyebrow at the girl. “Why, do you know everyone who works at CatCo?”

“Pretty much.”

Lena raised her eyebrows as she gave her a questioning look. Sam rolled her eyes before elaborating: “I usually just hang out around dad’s office. It’s kind of interesting to see how the news works.”

“Really?” Lena said with surprise, “I never met a kid who was interested in the news before.”

“ _Kid?_ ” Sam frowned as she gave Lena an annoyed look. “The appropriate term is ‘teenager’.”

Lena suppressed the urge to laugh at the girl’s seriousness. “And besides,” Sam continued, “I always thought about being a reporter someday. So… obviously I would be interested.” Lena felt her good humour flood away at the sight of the girl recounting her ambitions, which she would never get to fulfil. “Or some other kind of writer,” Sam suddenly said, “I always liked writing stories, too. But dad said that I would definitely have to choose someday, because;” the girl lowered her voice clearly trying to imitate her father, “‘you can’t mix facts with fiction’.” Sam chuckled as she tossed up her tennis ball again. “So? Who’s your friend, then?”

“Her name is Kara. Kara Danvers?”

Sam snorted, as apparently something was funny about that. “Oh, yeah. Ponytail.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s what dad calls her; ‘Ponytail’.”

Lena scowled, feeling completely offended that someone would have the audacity to give Kara a condescending nickname. “She should feel honoured, really,” Sam said, as Lena gave her an incredulous look, “he only gives people nicknames if they stand out to him. So she must be doing something right.” Lena huffed, still not convinced of the man’s benevolence. “Of course she’s doing something right! Kara is perfect!” Sam snorted loudly at the statement, as she shook her head. “Okay…” she said slowly, proceeding to bounce her ball of the floor a couple times. “So… my parents? And getting them together…?”

Lena sighed and sat up straighter, trying to find a way to dissuade the girl from her ridiculous plan. “Look, Sam… are you sure there isn’t something else that would make your dad happy? I mean, relationships are not easy, you can’t just… I mean… you understand that this might be impossible, right?” Sam groaned and gave her an annoyed look. “Why do adults always have to make things so complicated? I’m telling you, they belong together!”

“Really, Sam, I don’t think-”

“Just go see them, I promise you’ll see it too.”

“See what?”

“That they’re made for each other! Oh, and that my mom’s boyfriend is a total ass-hat.”

Lena let out another sigh as she contemplated the girl for a second. She still wasn’t convinced that this plan was the way to go. Then again, she supposed there was no harm in surveying the situation…

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena nervously drummed her fingers on the small table as she glanced around the Chinese restaurant. It had been a few days since she’d thanked Kara for essentially saving her life, but these lunch dates had already become quite regular before that. She considered that she should be used to this by now. To hanging out with a friend and talking casually about everything and nothing but, for some reason, she still got nervous. Although this time, she could probably put the blame on Sam’s hovering presence. It’s not that she didn’t like the girl. On the contrary; she could be quite a refreshing person at times. But the fact that she wouldn’t leave her office anymore was rather inconvenient. ‘I’m just curious’ she’d said. ‘You won’t even notice I’m here’. Obviously, she _did_ notice her. And not just because of the tennis ball she was constantly bouncing around. Sam had the tendency to make snarky remarks about some of her less pleasant visitors. Which would be hilarious, if Lena didn’t have to constantly stop herself from laughing out loud in front of important investors.

“Hey! Sorry I’m late!”

Lena broke out into a wide smile as she watched Kara hurriedly slide into the seat on the opposite side of the table. “I just had to rewrite an entire article, basically from scratch. Seriously, I think Snapper was in a worse mood than usual which, honestly, I didn’t think was possible.” Lena just kept smiling at the reporter, ignoring the indignant sound Sam made from a few tables away. It was a good thing she’d managed to get her to sit all the way over there. “It’s okay, Kara, I took the liberty of ordering already.”

“Really? What did you-” Kara took a deep breath as she smiled in delight at the giant plate of potstickers the waiter carefully deposited on their table. “I figured you’d be happy,” Lena said while smirking, “seeing we’re at a Chinese place it wasn’t too hard to figure out what you’d want.” Kara made a satisfied humming sound as she’d already started digging into the food. “You’re the best, Lena!”

The CEO smiled at the sight of Kara’s  overjoyed face, as she was definitely not feeling giddy at that last statement. Because ‘giddy’ is not something a Luthor feels. She also was definitely not blushing. There was a loud snorting sound, as apparently Sam thought that something was funny. “Aren’t you gonna eat anything?” Kara forced out around the food in her mouth. “I can’t eat all this by myself”. Lena raised an eyebrow at the woman. “My salad will do just fine. And besides,” Lena smiled widely, “I think we both know that you can and _will_ eat that whole plate, Kara.” The reporter gave a self-conscious grin before taking another bite. Her abundant appetite was just _one_ of the things that kept amazing her about the reporter. “So how was your week?” Lena inquired. “Already have people asking you autographs for your brilliant story on Lena Luthor’s innocence?” Kara laughed as she swatted at her. “Oh , stop…” She kept chuckling as she nervously adjusted her glasses. Sam apparently felt the need to make a snorting sound again. “I’m not famous yet, alas,” Kara proclaimed dramatically, “I _did_ have a weird Valentine’s day, though.” Kara looked slightly more serious as she shook her head. “Don’t worry,” she exclaimed upon seeing Lena’s concerned expression, “everything worked out just fine. I even have a boyfriend now!”

“A- A boyfriend?”

“Yeah! His name is Mo- I mean Mike. His- his name is Mike. You actually met him, he was at your gala, remember?” Lena frowned as she thought back to the guests in attendance that night. “Is he… the guy that basically invited himself?” Kara nodded vigorously as she smiled widely. “Yes! That’s him!” Lena hummed, trying to remember the man’s face. “That’s, uh… that’s great, Kara.” The reporter gave her a wide smile as Lena thought of this _Mike_ guy. He hadn’t exactly… stood out, in her mind. To be fair, they’d only had that one conversation so it wasn’t really fair to judge him on that. She couldn’t help but feel that Kara could do better, though. Not that she was going to tell that to the living ray of sunshine that was beaming brightly right now, while telling her all about the man in question. It was probably just the Luthor genes, but she felt the urge to hire a private investigator. You know… to make sure this guy wasn’t shady or anything. However, that would definitely be crossing a line, right? For some reason, she still felt uncomfortable about this guy dating Kara, though. Maybe that was normal… Maybe this was what it was like to feel protective of someone.

Suddenly Kara’s phone buzzed and as she picked it up, her face went uncharacteristically serious. It was only for a moment, before her expression turned apologetic. “I’m- I’m sorry, Lena. I have to run, there’s a- a work thing… You know how Snapper is.” Lena smiled, trying not to show her disappointment at this early interruption. “It’s okay, Kara.” If their lunches together were common-place by now, than so were the interruptions due to the emergencies at Kara’s office. She’d never realised that journalism was such a demanding profession. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise” Kara said while getting up. “In that case,” Lena responded, “there’s a new fermentation place we could try.” Kara froze for a second as she gave Lena a wary look. “They have… edible things there, right?” Lena laughed wholeheartedly before replying. “Yes, Kara, there will be food.” Kara smiled widely at her. “Good, that’s good.” She quickly gave Lena a hug before darting out of the restaurant, as the CEO looked after her, a long sigh escaping her lips.

“Ahem…”

Lena looked over to see that Sam was now standing next to the table. “So… this means we can go now, right?” Lena nodded as she looked at the girl’s excited face. “Yes… just give me a second.” She proceeded to take care of the bill before heading out to meet up with Winn, albeit earlier than expected, as Sam followed with a spring in her step.

“So… what’s a fermentation place?”

Lena sighed as she took out her phone and put it to her ear, ensuring no one would see her talking to thin air, while they made their way down the street. “It’s a restaurant where they serve mostly fermented food. Honestly, I need to get Kara to eat something besides pizzas and potstickers, or she’ll have a heart attack before she’s 45.” Sam snorted again, as Lena was starting to suspect that the girl had an odd sense of humour. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing , it’s just… weird” Sam said as she gave her a curious look. “At work, you’re sort of this… ice queen… but one second with Ponytail and you’re a total softie.”

“I’m- I’m not a ‘softie’” Lena grumbled.

“Yeah, right” Sam chuckled. Lena should probably feel offended at the mockery but honestly, who _wouldn’t_ take a liking to Kara Danvers?

“So… she’s your best friend, huh?”

“Yes,” Lena smiled fondly, “she is.”

“You’re besties?”

“Well… yes.”

“Total gal pals?”

“Yes.”

Sam snorted loudly again as they crossed the street, leaving Lena rather annoyed at the fact that she was apparently being made fun of.

As they reached the slightly less grey area of the city and made their way through some residential blocks, Lena noticed a man sitting on a bench, obviously trying very hard not to be conspicuous. She rolled her eyes as she put her phone away and moved to sit next to her partner in crime. “Seriously, Winn,” the man yelped in surprise before noticing who it was, “lose the sunglasses, it’s February for god’s sake.” Winn let out a breath while holding a hand over his chest. “Jesus, Lena, you scared me.” He chuckled nervously before removing his unnecessary eyewear and glancing around the area surrounding the bench. “So, uh… aren’t you gonna introduce me?” Lena sighed as she looked at the ghost that stood next to her besides the bench. “Sam, meet Winn. Winn, Samantha Carr.” The man smiled as he waved in no particular direction, his eyes searching the area. “Hi! I’m the sidekick!” he proclaimed excitedly, before Lena forcefully lowered his arm. “Will you please act like a sane person?!” she hissed. “Oh, right…”

Sam laughed loudly at the sight before her. “He’s funny.”

Lena let out a breath, as the man’s knack for being comedic was not very welcome at times like these. “So,” she started, “any sign of her yet?” Winn shook his head as he pointed towards the house across from the small patch of green they were currently occupying. “If the address is right, that one should be it. It’s early, I guess, but if Sam was right about-” He stopped mid-sentence as the door of the house that the trio was staring at suddenly swung open. “That’s her!” Sam shouted. “That’s my mom!”

Lena watched as a small woman stepped out of the front door. She was slightly overweight and her skin was of a darker shade than that of her daughter, but the resemblance was still visible. Right behind the woman, a tall and lanky man stepped out into the cold as well. “Ugh… and that’s _Patrick_.” Sam scowled as she crossed her arms and looked at the man with nothing but contempt. “Just look at him! You can just tell he’s bad news, can’t you? My mom totally doesn’t need him, I don’t get why she keeps him around. Look at him being all slimy!”

“Um…”

Lena turned her head to the side as she and Winn shared a look. The middle-aged couple were just standing out on the curb, talking to each other. To say that the conversation looked friendly, was a massive understatement. The woman seemed to be doing her best impression of a shy schoolgirl as she kept giggling at everything this Patrick said, while fidgeting with her fingers. The man had a silly smile in  place as well, gesturing with his long arms as he was apparently telling a funny story. He proceeded to shortly press his finger on the woman’s nose in a joking manner, causing her to burst out in even more giggles.  They didn’t look their age at the moment as they looked more like a couple of smitten teenagers.

“Gee, I hate to break it to you kid,” Winn started, “but those two seem to be doing just fine.”

Sam scoffed at him. “Like _you_ would know stuff about relationships! And I’m not a kid!”

Lena supressed the urge to laugh as she gave the girl a warning look “Sam!”

“What?” Winn said while looking confused. “What did she say?”

“She suggested that you don’t have the experience to judge other people’s love lives” Lena sighed. “Hey, now- now look here young lady,” Winn sat up straighter as he waved a finger in no particular direction, “I will let you know that I have a girlfriend now, so I… I know just plenty, thank you very much.” Lena shot him a surprised look. “You have a girlfriend?” Winn nodded, visibly excited. “Yeah! Didn’t I tell you that? She kind of saved me before asking me out. On Valentine’s day no less! She’s great; her name is Lyra and she’s from this really cool planet called Starhaven… you should totally meet her!” Lena blinked a few times as she thought that this truly _had_ been quite the Valentine’s day for everyone. She also suddenly realised what the man had said and looked at him intently. “You’re… you’re dating an alien?” she asked slowly. Something very unusual happened to Winn’s expression. He turned completely serious as he looked at her with eyes that were completely void of his usual good-natured demeanour. “You got a problem with that?” Lena realised her mistake almost immediately. She was still a Luthor, after all. And she had just made an ambiguous remark about someone from another planet. _Shit_.

“No, no, Winn, I didn’t mean it like that” she held out her hand as Winn still looked kind of unsure. “It’s just… unusual, is what I meant. I was just surprised, I swear.” Winn nodded as he seemed to relax a bit. “Um, hello?!” Sam suddenly said, Lena’s head turning towards the girl. “You’re both missing proof of my mother’s unhealthy relationship!” Lena sighed as she took another look at the couple in question who, as far as she could tell, were still acting just as ridiculously cute as they were before. “Sam, I… I really don’t see it.” Sam scoffed as she looked thoroughly offended. “Yeah, sorry kid,” Winn said, “this looks like a dead end.” He stretched his arms above his head while yawning, before standing up from the bench. “I gotta go back to work. Let me know if you come up with a better plan.” Lena nodded as she ignored the indignant sputtering coming from Sam’s direction. “I will. Thanks anyway, Winn.”

“Of course! What are TANC’s for?”

“Tanks?”

“Totally Awesome Necro-saving Companions!”

“Just… no.”

“That’s alright, I’ve got plenty more ideas.”

He smiled his silly grin, before turning around and heading towards the busier part of the city again. Lena didn’t even have the time to shake her head at the man’s silliness, before Sam sat down in his place and gave her a troubled look. “So, that’s it?” she asked, while searching Lena’s face with her eyes. “You’re not gonna help me get my parents back together?” Lena’s expression softened as she looked at the girl in front of her. “Look, Sam, I don’t know how your dad feels about your mom” she started carefully, “and maybe you’re right; maybe he would be happier if things went back to how they used to be. Maybe he still loves your mom, I can’t know that for sure.” She smiled tentatively at Sam, who was starting to look less angry, her expression turning sad, more than anything. “But your mom has obviously moved on. I’m sure Patrick isn’t perfect, but she looks really happy with him right now. It might not last forever, but… I think trying to force your parents back together right now wouldn’t work, no matter how perfect they might be for each other. If anything… if your dad really still loves your mom… don’t you think it would just make him sadder; seeing her this happy with someone else?” Lena was painfully aware of the fact that she was currently trying to explain the complexity of relationships to a girl, who probably had as little experience in love as she did. Not that she was going to tell her that, obviously.

Sam looked utterly defeated as she hung her head down and looked at her tennis ball before giving a small nod. She blinked a few times before looking up at Lena again. “So… what am I supposed to do now?” Sam gave Lena a pleading look, still with sadness written all over her face. “How is… I mean… how am I supposed to make my dad happy now?” Sam looked down again while blinking furiously. Lena shifted closer to her as she tried her best to give her an encouraging look. “Hey, look at me.” Sam lifted her head. “We will think of something,” Lena said, “I promise.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“So, who was that again?”

Lena sighed as she lifted her head from where she was sitting at her desk and looked over at Sam. The girl was sprawled out on the couch, her head and feet each occupying an armrest, while throwing her tennis ball above her head. It had been a little over a week since they’d spied on her mother and her new boyfriend, but they still hadn’t come up with a coherent plan to improve Snapper Carr’s state of mind. In Lena’s defence; it wasn’t like she didn’t have anything else to do. She still had a billion-dollar company to run, after all. Their non-existent progress wasn’t for a lack of trying, either. They had bounced around ideas almost as much as Sam bounced around her ball, but none of their plans seemed to fall within the realm of plausibility. Whatever they did, the conversation always seemed to come back to the same thing: Snapper Carr enjoyed good reporting. And that was great. That was all very well. But it wasn’t like Lena could snap her fingers and bless the world with universal journalistic integrity.

“That was dr. Benson” Lena responded calmly while returning her attention to her paperwork.

“And what was he on about?”

“Missing biochemical samples from our labs.”

“Yeah, I heard that, but why was he making such a fuss?”

Lena sighed as she looked up at Sam again. She couldn’t deny that the girl’s persisting curiosity reminded her a lot of herself at that age, but at times the incessant questioning still became a little annoying. “He was just concerned about the company’s reputation” she explained. “Reporting a potential theft from our labs could make us look irresponsible or even dangerous, especially since dr. Runnels went missing after being last seen leaving L-Corp. But like I told him, it would be worse if someone found out that we _didn’t_ report it.” Sam stopped throwing her ball towards the ceiling as she cocked her head backwards to shoot a crooked grin at the CEO. “So basically, you’re afraid that you can’t tell a lie to Ponytail’s face?” Lena pursed her lips at the girl who was still grinning. Sam had the odd habit of teasing her about her friendship with Kara, although she didn’t quite get what was so funny about it. “I informed the authorities because it was the right thing to do” Lena said coolly. Sam just snickered to herself as she turned her attention back to throwing her tennis ball.

It should probably worry her that a ghost was sticking around for this long. She had been extremely lucky in the past, managing to solve most of the deceased people’s problems in a matter of days. That said, she had to admit that Sam’s extended presence, which had lasted for about two weeks now, was not actually bothering her that much. I mean, sure, she asked more questions than a late night quiz host. Not to mention her distracting presence during certain meetings. But somehow it was still comforting to have someone around all day that saw things from your perspective. Almost as if she had a student, training to become the next CEO of L-Corp. “I still think that you should buy some news outlets” Sam suddenly proclaimed. Lena shut her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “Sam, I told you, L-Corp buying questionable publications, even with all the best intentions to turn them around, wouldn’t do anyone any good. We would look like we were trying to control the news, which would definitely piss off your dad, and the publications in question would just be seen as our puppets.” Lena let out a humourless laugh. “They would have less credibility than professional wrestling.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… WHOA!”

Lena looked up in surprise as Sam jolted up from the couch and gave the CEO a warning look. “Don’t drag wrestling into this!” Lena scoffed, but the girl kept looking at her very seriously. “You’re… you’re kidding, right?” Lena asked carefully. “Do I look amused?” Sam shot back. Lena frowned at this sudden defensiveness. “Sam, you… you now it’s fake, right?”

“The appropriate term is ‘scripted’.”

Lena didn’t get the chance to respond to this curious turn of events as suddenly Alana barged into the office. “Found it! The annual budget report from last year!” Lena took a moment to switch gears, as she turned her attention to the problem that Kara had asked her to help her with. “Alana, take a look at this…”

 

After sending her assistant to the archives to find more evidence, she realised she might be moving too slow. If her mother was truly kidnapping every alien in the city, then Kara definitely needed to get her article out as quick as possible. But there wasn’t any way she could get the information on the Naval Research facility any faster. Or was there…? Lena threw a sideways glance at her couch where Sam had resumed her relaxed positon, this time bouncing her ball off the floor. She turned to her window, stepping closer to it, feeling rather silly at what she intended to do. I mean, he’d said that it would work, right? That he would be able to hear her?

“Dad…?” she said softly.

“Yes, Lena?”

Lena spun around, finding her father standing a few feet away and smiling at her.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” Sam exclaimed.

Lionel turned around to look behind him, where Sam had fallen from the couch in surprise, making no noise on impact, before scurrying to her feet and stepping closer to the man. “Sam,” Lena started, “this is my father. Dad… this is Samantha Carr, she’s a ghost too.” Lionel gave the girl a friendly smile as she was still looking at him with wide eyes. “Nice to meet you, Samantha,” he said, “I hope you’re not giving my daughter too much trouble?” Sam shook her head while looking the man up and down. “No, no… we’re cool, but…” she quickly glanced at Lena before turning her attention back to Lionel, “how… how did you just… appear like that?” The man let out a short laugh. “Well, I’ve had many years to practice, but if you concentrate hard enough on a place that you’ve been to before or know really well, you can instantly travel there.” Sam’s jaw dropped as she was now gawking at the man. “Get out of here!” She let out a short laugh and shook her head. “So I walked all the way to Boston for nothing?”

“You _walked_ to Boston?!” Lena asked incredulously.

“I had to!” Sam shot back. “They were having the first Hell in a Cell match with two women, _in the main event!_ I couldn’t _not_ be there!”

Lena didn’t quite know how to respond to that,  but her father spared her the trouble. “So did you need my help with something?” the man asked. Lena cleared her throat and focused her attention back to the problem at hand. “Yes… take a look at this.” She directed her father’s attention to the large screen on the wall, where the facility in question was on display. “When you were looking for mother, did you visit this place?” Lionel frowned as he looked at the screen. “I thought… that it shut down years ago. At the time, your mother wasn’t even on the board yet.” Lena nodded. “I know, but L-Corp got billed for a shipment to it just last month.” She turned her head towards the ghost of her father, giving him a tentative look. “Could you… could you maybe go and see if something is going on?” Lionel nodded with a decisive look in his eyes. “Of course. I’ll be right back.”

The man closed his eyes for a second and suddenly, he was gone. There were no strange visuals, noises or fanfare. One second he was there and the next he’d disappeared. Sam stepped closer to the spot where the man had been standing. “Wow…” she shook her head in disbelief “…I’ve _got_ to learn how to do that!” Lena chuckled at the girl’s excitement but before she could comment on it, Lionel suddenly reappeared, looking very troubled. “She’s there! Your mother, she’s at the facility!” Lena inhaled sharply, taking in the satisfaction of finally having knowledge of the woman’s whereabouts. “I don’t know what she’s planning but it doesn’t look good. They have some sort of giant aircraft standing by and they’re loading aliens into it…”

Lena quickly moved to her desk, grabbing her phone. “I have to go back” Lionel said, “I can’t lose sight of your mother again.” Lena just nodded. “I understand, dad, it’s alright.” The man shot her one last apologetic look before turning to Sam. “It was nice to meet you, Samantha.” With that, the man closed his eyes and suddenly disappeared again. Lena sighed for a moment, before turning her attention back to her phone. “Okay,” Sam said slowly, “I know this is a very serious situation and all, but… can I just say something?” Lena looked up while putting the phone to her ear. “What?” Lena asked, giving Sam a questioning look as the girl was starting to show a sly grin. “I’ll bet my tennis ball that you’re not even calling the police right now.” Lena couldn’t pinpoint the reason why, but she could feel her face heating up. “It’s… she… Kara knows how to contact Supergirl, all right?! She can get there much faster than the police!” She turned around to face her window, as Sam actually started laughing. Loudly.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The next day was rather curious. Every alien on the spacecraft had been saved, Kara had posted her blog warning the alien population and everything was just fine. Sam had actually been more freaked out than Lena was, when the CEO had been thrown of her balcony (leading to Lena having to calm _her_ down _,_ instead of the other way around) but still, things were fine. Well, apart from her mother escaping once again. Lena had never seen her father as angry as this morning, when he’d come to tell her that he’d lost the woman amidst another explosion. Nonetheless, he was back on the road again now, probably going by every place that her mother had ever visited in order to find her. So for the most part, everything was fine. There really should be no problem at all. Except Kara hadn’t called. She hadn’t thanked Lena for her help. Then again, since she’d posted the blog instead of publishing the article, she hadn’t technically needed a second source anymore. It still seemed like odd behaviour for Kara, though.

Lena lasted until 6 PM. She had done her best to distract herself with work and with answering the stream of questions coming from Sam, but at this point she’d reached her limit. She was starting to get worried that something had happened to the young reporter and after one last teasing ‘Just call her, you know you want to!’, Lena gave in. As she held her phone to her ear and waited for Kara to answer, she shot Sam a warning glance as the girl was standing on the other side of the desk. The girl mimicked zipping her lips, indicating that she’d be quiet. It didn’t stop her from smirking, though.

“Hey, Lena.”

The CEO sat up straighter, as Kara sounded very tired and very far from her cheerful self. “Hi, Kara. I- I just um… thought I’d… call and… check in?” Lena internally cursed herself for not even being close to her articulate self. A fact underlined by Sam biting down on her lip to stop herself from laughing. “Oh, you- you didn’t have to, I’m… I’m great.”

“Are you sure? You don’t… sound great.”

“Well I… I guess…” there was a sigh on the other end of the line, “you’re right, I’m not great.”

Lena tensed up as she sat up straighter in her chair. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Well, sort of… I guess,” there was another sigh as Lena was starting to get worried, “it’s kind of selfish, really. I mean, my blog stopped a lot of aliens from getting kidnapped.”

“So… what’s the matter, then? Was Snapper being an ass?” Lena was vaguely aware that Sam was giving her an annoyed frown.

“No, he was actually… pretty calm and reasonable, but… he still fired me.”

“HE FIRED YOU?!”

“Yeah, I mean… I suppose I should’ve seen it coming-”

“No, Kara! Your story was more important than protocol and he should’ve known that!”

There was a short but humourless chuckle on the other end. “Thanks, Lena. I’m still kind of bummed out, though.”

“Well, whatever you need, just call me alright? I don’t care what time it is.”

“Lena, you have a company to run-”

“That’s not important right now. The important thing is that you don’t beat yourself up for nothing. And… Kara?”

“Yes?”

“You- I mean, just so you know… I have your back too.”

There was a small chuckle, coated with fondness. “Yes… I know. Thank you, Lena. I’ll see you soon, alright?”

“Anytime you want” Lena reiterated. Kara chuckled again before saying goodbye.

As Lena lowered her phone, she could feel her anger starting to boil up. Who did this guy think he was? Firing the most genuine, honest person in all of National City just because _he_ wouldn’t publish an article that could have made a difference between life or death? But of course; journalism was his life. Her talks with Sam had revealed that much, but she didn’t think the man would value journalistic integrity over alien lives. And people still questioned _her_ stance on alien immigrants? This wasn’t right. This was wrong anyway you looked at it. She looked up at Sam, still internally fuming, while the girl gave her an uncertain look. “He, um… he really fired her, huh?” Lena exhaled through her nose reminding herself that she of all people should know that children weren’t to blame for their parents’ actions. “Does your father still work at this hour?” Lena asked as evenly as she could. “Um… usually he does, yes. He tends to be the last one to leave.” Lena got up from her desk, grabbing her purse, as she basically stormed out of her office. Sam hesitated for a moment, but then quickly followed her. “Oh, dear…”

 

It wasn’t too long until Lena stepped out of the elevator at CatCo. Andy the security guard had actually stopped her this time, but one ID check and one intimidating glare had been enough to see her through. As she strode past the empty desks on the deserted floor, she glanced around the room, searching for her target. “Where’s your father’s office?” she asked, turning her head to the ghost that had followed her all the way. “It’s that one,” Sam said while pointing at the only door in the room that wasn’t see-through, “but-” Lena didn’t wait for the girl to finish her thought as she stepped towards the office. “Wait, wait, wait…” Sam moved in front of the CEO, putting herself in between Lena and the door while holding up her hands, one of them still holding onto her ball. “Look, I know you’re angry right now-”

“No kidding”

“-but this is a bad idea.” Sam looked at her with a pleading look. “You have a right to be upset, but… if you go in there and yell at him, you’re just going to make it harder for us to help him. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to be able to have a friendly conversation with him at some point, right?” Lena tried her best to contain her anger. She knew the girl had a point, but she wasn’t going to let her hauntings get in the way of helping her friend. “I’m not going to yell at him,” she said through gritted teeth, “I’m just going to demand an explanation for his actions. Someone needs to hold him accountable.” Sam seemed to deflate slightly as she lowered her hands. “Okay, but just…” she hesitated, but eventually decided to step out of the way “…don’t burn any bridges, alright?” Lena exhaled sharply. “I’ll try” she said as calmly as she could. She stepped past the girl while giving her a warning look. “You wait here.” As the girl gave a timid nod, Lena pressed the handle and stepped into the office.

Snapper Carr was sitting at his desk, holding his forehead with one hand while he was reading something. As soon as Lena stepped into the office, however, his head shot up as he frowned slightly. “Ms. Luthor…”

Lena stepped towards the desk and gave the man one of her best glares. “Good evening, Mr. Carr. I need a minute of your time” she stated bluntly. Snapper gave her an unamused look as he stood up from his seat, leaning on his desk. “Do you always barge into people’s offices after hours, without an appointment?”

“I’m afraid this couldn’t wait.”

The man let out a sigh, while moving his hands to his hips. “Fine, since you’re here anyway, why don’t you make it quick?” he grumbled. Lena knew she was currently an unwanted visitor, but she couldn’t help but think that Kara’s description of ‘grumpiness in human form’ seemed incredibly fitting. “I’m here to talk about the firing of Kara Danvers.” Snapper actually scoffed at her as he shook his head and started moving some papers around on his desk. “There’s nothing to talk about, Ms. Luthor. She independently published an article while working for CatCo, which is a clear breach  of contract.”

“You refused to publish that article” Lena shot back.

“You can’t publish an article with just one source, and a questionable one at that.”

“She was right!”

“She got lucky.”

Lena was starting to question her ability to keep her poise and her dignity, as the man was still not giving her his full attention, keeping his focus on the papers on his desk. “Don’t the lives of all the aliens in this city mean anything to you?” Lena asked as some of her anger slipped into her voice. “Don’t you care at all that one article could have warned everybody about the impending danger? Don’t you care about anything?” The man finally looked up at her over his glasses with a grumpy expression. “I care about the truth” he stated dryly. “The news means nothing if it isn’t handled with care and, more importantly, integrity.” Lena could slowly feel her self-control starting to crumble. Was this grouchy man seriously lecturing her about integrity? About _Kara’s_ integrity?! “Kara published that blog _because_ of her integrity” Lena retorted. “Because she cared more about other people’s wellbeing than her own job! If anything, you should be proud of her!!”

Snapper was starting to frown deeper at the rising volume of Lena’s voice, but he responded in his same grumpy tone: “Ms. Danvers risked causing a nation-wide panic based on a single source, who wouldn’t even tell her where they got their information from. She happened to be right this time, but it’s not a reporter’s job to gamble with the truth.” Lena made an indignant noise as she shook her head. “Maybe you can afford to let friendship cloud your judgement,” Snapper continued, “but I can’t. As far as being proud of her-” he made a condescending noise, “-disregarding unbiased journalism is nothing to be proud of.” Lena could feel the exact moment her patience snapped. Whether it was Snapper’s implication that she was incapable of judging people or the suggestion that Kara’s actions weren’t admirable, either way, she wasn’t able to hold back anymore. “So, that’s it?!” Lena exclaimed loudly. “You’re going to let go of the only person that probably cares as much about the truth as you do?!” Snapper seemed unaffected by the outburst, responding in the same monotone voice.

“Ms. Luthor, honestly-”

“She cared about the truth enough to break the rules!!”

“That’s enough, I don’t need-”

“What kind of mentor can’t appreciate that?! Can’t appreciate that kind of dedication?!”

“Ms. Luthor, you’re crossing the line-”

“She looked up to you, you know that?! Despite your foul attitude, she cared what you thought!!”

“If you think insulting me is going to help-”

“But you don’t care about that, do you?! You don’t care that Kara already lost two father figures and now you had to go and-”

“GET OUT!!”

Lena staggered, as for the first time since entering the office the man had actually raised his voice. He was looking positively bewildered, his glasses teetering on the edge of his nose as his eyes were wide and filled with complete outrage, bordering on crazed. His face was turning completely red, as she could see a vein throbbing on his forehead. “Mr. Carr, I didn’t mean-”

“GET OUT, LUTHOR!! OR I’LL HAVE SECURITY THROW YOU OUT AND HAVE SOME PICTURES TAKEN FOR GOOD MEASURE!!

Lena realised she’d made a mistake. She should have known better. She had spent almost every hour of every day of the past two weeks with the man’s daughter. But her anger had cancelled out all her filters. She hadn’t thought before speaking. She hadn’t thought before bringing up fatherly bonds in front of the man who, since almost a year ago, wasn’t a father anymore… She wanted to say something. She wanted to apologise in some way, but the man was still looking at her with a positively murderous expression and she realised that it was probably too late. She backed away from the desk and blindly reached for the handle as the man sat back down at his desk, still looking red in the face. As she pressed the handle and turned to leave, however, she froze in place.

Sam hadn’t done what she’d asked. She hadn’t waited outside. The girl was standing in the corner of the room next to the door and was looking at her father. Lena couldn’t think of any other way to describe the girl’s expression, other than ‘horrified’. Lena couldn’t get herself to move as the girl’s lip was starting to quiver. She knew that she probably shouldn’t. She knew that she didn’t want to see it. Nevertheless, she couldn’t help turning her head to look over her shoulder, glancing back at Snapper Carr. Lena could feel her breath hitch in her throat. The man was sitting down, his glasses discarded to the side, with his elbows propped up on his desk as he held his head with both hands. He was sitting motionless and she couldn’t see his face… but she could see tears falling onto the papers in front of him, softly dripping amidst the deadly silence of the mostly abandoned building.

Lena swallowed as she looked back at Sam who was now meeting her gaze, giving her a look that spelled pain, indignation and a feeling of betrayal. Lena inhaled sharply as she forced her legs to move and step out of the office, closing the door with more force than she probably should. She took long strides on her way to the elevator as guilt was starting to gnaw at her conscience. When had she become this irascible? Since when was she no longer capable of controlling her emotions during a confrontation? Of course she cared about Kara, but these kind of outbursts were not befitting of a CEO. She should never have-

“What the hell was that?!”

Lena turned around in front of the elevator as Sam came to a stop in front of her, crossing her arms and seemingly holding back tears. Lena glanced around the corridor, making sure there was truly no one there, before turning her attention back to the girl. “Sam, I’m sorry… I- I didn’t mean to-”

“I told you not to yell at him!! And then you go and say all that?!” The girl was still looking like she was on the verge of tears, but her anger currently had the upper hand as she still had that betrayed look in her eyes that was making Lena’s stomach turn. “Do you have any idea how long it took him to get over it?! How long it took before he would even answer his phone, or talk to someone, let alone show up at work?!” Lena wanted to say something. Defend herself, apologise, comfort the girl, but no words seemed good enough at the moment. “You were supposed to make him happier!! You were supposed to help me!!” Lena opened and closed her mouth but still no words were coming out. Sam’s eyes were going cold and Lena recognised the sight of someone who was putting on a mask and she hated it. She hated that this sweet open hearted kid was doing the same thing she used to do as a child. Because no one should have to do that. Especially not Sam…

“But god forbid anything happens to Ponytail, right?” Sam scoffed as her voice turned cold and detached, causing chills to run down Lena’s spine. “That’s all you care about isn’t it? Her, and that stupid company of yours.” Lena was starting to feel her throat close up, but she forced her vocal chords to do their job. “No, Sam… Of course I care about you…”

“Well, you have a funny way of showing it” the girl shot back. She uncrossed her arms as she glanced back in the direction of her dad’s office, visibly tightening the grip on her tennis ball. “Look, we- we can,” Lena started weakly, “we can still do this. We’ll figure out a way to fix this, I- I promise…” Sam looked back at her, the anger and coldness not befitting the girl’s face, in Lena’s mind. “I think you’ve done enough” Sam stated bitterly. Lena swallowed as she was used to being disappointed by those around her. Her mother, her brother, her board of directors, even Jack… But she never realised how much it would sting to be the cause of such disappointment to someone else. Someone she cared about…

“I think my dad will be better off without your help” Sam stated. “So just…” she looked at Lena intently, the shadow of the sweet and hurt girl seeping through her mask “…just leave us alone.”

Suddenly, she bolted towards the stairs, starting to run down them without as much as a single noise. “Sam, wait!!” Lena sped after her, but had to stop to remove her heels before running down the stairs as well. “Sam, please stop!!” She kept on running, as Lena was now barely getting a glimpse of Sam’s dark hair every time she rounded the corner to another floor. She couldn’t keep up with the girl. “Sam, please!!” As she reached the ground floor and used her entire weight to push open the heavy door, she was just in time to see the girl run straight through the revolving doors and out onto the street.

“Sa-”

Lena stopped herself just in time as Andy the security guard snapped his head around and gave her a curious look. Moving as quickly as she could without looking suspicious, she hurried towards the exit while putting her heels back on. She shot a quick ‘goodnight’ in Andy’s direction but before he had the chance to respond, she was already walking out of the revolving doors.

“Sam!!”

Lena looked frantically from left to right as she stepped out onto the street, noticing some people glancing curiously in her direction. “Sam, come back!!” She didn’t see her. She didn’t see any sign of the girl’s distinctive striped top. She kept looking from one side to the other, panic filling her chest, as there was no way of knowing which way Sam had ran off to. She dug her fingers into her hair and hung her head down… and that’s when she noticed it. Her eyes went wide as she crouched down, paying no attention to the looks she was getting from the people that were passing by.

There was a tennis ball lying on the curb.

Lena wen to pick it up. To retrieve the ball that had been silently bouncing around her office for the past two weeks… but she couldn’t. As she tried to grasp the ball, her fingers went straight through it, the ghostly object remaining unmoved in front of the CatCo building. Lena covered her eyes with one hand as she let out a shaky breath. This was her fault… She realised now that when it came to the spirits she had seen, she had always been selfish. Always thought about her own life first, and maybe that was logical. Maybe it was fair. But as she looked down at the abandoned object that she couldn’t touch, she realised that she’d been oblivious to the responsibility she carried. The responsibility of being someone’s one and only hope. She was responsible for all of it. Sam’s anguish, her father’s sadness, and this decision… The decision to leave a part of herself behind…

 

The part of her that was soft, green, and always bounced back…

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_The sound of quietly rattling chains filled the poorly lit room. The dim glow was barely enough to cast some light on the various weapons and equipment that were spread out on the improvised workspace. There was a vast array of impressive devices present, most of which would have the world’s top scientists salivating at the prospective of deconstructing and analysing them. Only one piece of equipment, however, seemed to be treated with reverence. While most of the devices were stacked one on top of the other and pushed to the side, this one piece of technology, in the shape of a cube, rested in the middle of the table, with plenty of room separating it from the rest its technological companions. There was yet another rattling of metal, as the woman who was chained to a chair facing the table, was stirring restlessly. “Please, I… I don’t know anything…”_

_“Come now, there’s no need to be modest.”_

_Lillian Luthor stepped out of the shadows while glaring coldly at the trembling woman, a cruel smile firmly in place. “You have worked with advanced technology most of your life, after all.” She stepped closer to the chair, grabbing the woman firmly by the chin and forcing her to look her in the eye. “This device was created by my son, so obviously it is the most complicated thing you will ever see in your life.” A glint of pride crossed Lillian’s eyes, as she kept holding on to the trembling woman. “But since my daughter insists on avoiding my company, I’m afraid you’ll have to do this on your own.” The captive woman was now breathing erratically, failing to keep her emotions to herself as she gave a trembling response; “I can’t… I can’t help you… I don’t know anything about this… this thing…”_

_Lillian  Luthor let out a measured sigh as she let go of the woman and stood up straight. She turned around and walked a few steps away motioning towards the shadows. “Mr. Henshaw, if you’d be so kind.” The cyborg, still standing in the dark area of the room, handed the eldest Luthor a thick metallic device, about the shape and size of a walking stick, that was glowing with blue light on the end. “Now, I can tell you’re lying” Lillian spoke as she turned around and stepped towards the helpless woman again “but I have something here, that I’m sure you_ really _don’t know anything about.” Lillian’s face morphed into a sadistic smile as she stepped up next to the chained woman in the chair. “Perhaps it will help you… to be more honest with me.” Without warning, the leader of Cadmus suddenly extended the device in her hand and put the glowing blue light at the end of it into the woman’s neck. The light glowed brighter and buzzed loudly as the captive woman let out a blood-curdling scream. The glow from the device illuminated the cold and calculating eyes of Lillian Luthor as she watched the woman squirm and writhe in pain while pulling on the chains that were restraining her. No one to hear her, no one to rescue her._

_And they had all the time in the world._

  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got very lengthy and I apologize for that. As always, feedback and comments are highly appreciated
> 
> Next week; Some people have complicated families, and Lena is there for them


	8. Rafael Santos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, if anyone is still reading this, I would like to apologise for the delay. I was already struggling to keep up with my intended chapter per week thing, but then my grandfather died and it kind of put a dent in my motivation to write a story about ghosts.
> 
> Anyway, I'm back now, updates will be slower, but eventually I will finish this story, I promise. That's the gist of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> During 2x16

_March 13 th 2017_

 

_“Thank you for joining us for Monday night Raw. From the Joe Lewis Arena in Detroit, good night everybody!”_

 

Lena switched off her office TV as she frowned at the black screen.

She didn’t get it.

Sam was an intelligent kid… no, teenager, she reminded herself. So she found it hard to get the girl’s protectiveness of whatever it is that she just watched. She found it hard to get the whole… wrestling thing. I mean, sure, the athleticism on display was undeniable, but the theatrics surrounding it were just so… childish. Well, those were three hours of her life she was never getting back.

Lena sighed, thinking she should probably feel guilty about neglecting her work, even at this late hour. But for the past two weeks Sam had been constantly on her mind. She knew the girl would probably be spending her days at CatCo again. She knew that if she visited the building, she might be able to find her. But how was she going to beg the girl to let her help her again in the middle of a crowded office? How would she be able to step foot on that floor in the first place, knowing that Snapper Carr would be there as well? Now that Kara didn’t work there anymore, she didn’t even have a proper excuse to show her face. And as she’d just found out, there were no wrestling events happening on the west coast for at least another month.

She had asked a very confused Trevor to make a detour and stop in front of CatCo almost every morning, hoping to catch Sam before she stepped into the building. But she never saw her. She hadn’t seen the girl since she had stormed off and, as humiliating as it was to admit to herself, it was killing her. Every morning of the past week she had gazed out of the window of her car, hoping to at least catch a glimpse of the girl. But all she would see was the girl’s abandoned tennis ball, still lying in the same spot where Sam had dropped it. Unmoving, and unbothered by all the people walking by and through it.

Lena put down the remote and walked over to the double doors, pushing them open to reveal the empty desk of her assistant. It had certainly been an interesting day; having to work through her duties without someone constantly at  the ready outside of her office. She’d thought that having two assistants on her pay roll would’ve been more than enough to cover for most eventualities but obviously, she’d been wrong. After she’d practically forced Jess to take a few days off, she was left with probably the second best assistant in the world. Or at least, that’s what she would’ve kept calling Alana, if it weren’t for the events of this morning.

 

_Lena felt completely disheartened as she entered her building. It was just a tennis ball, but seeing it lying there in the middle of the sidewalk just seemed wrong. She was quickly brought out of her thoughts when Titus stood up from the front desk and actually approached her, looking unusually awake by his standards. “Ms. Luthor, we have a situation.” She frowned at the man, who was wringing his hands together nervously. “What do you mean?” she asked warily. “The police just went upstairs. They wouldn’t tell me what they wanted, but they had a warrant and-”_

_At that moment the elevator doors opened to reveal two police officers. One of them stepped out into the lobby first, while the other followed with a handcuffed woman. That woman, being Alana. Lena’s eyes widened at the baffling sight and she stepped up to the first officer. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked as she glared at the policeman. “Ms. Luthor,” he responded, “we have an arrest warrant for Alana Stone, we’re just doing our job.” Lena glanced past him, noticing that the other officer was guiding Alana to the main entrance, her assistant not even looking over in her direction. “So now you’ve decided to start harassing my employees as well?” she bit back with venom in her voice. “National City’s finest indeed.”_

_“Ms. Luthor… we have her on tape, talking to your mother. She sent the men who pushed you off your balcony.”_

_Lena’s face fell in disbelief. “You… you have it on tape?”_

_The police officer nodded. “The FBI managed to intercept the call. I’m sorry.” The policeman tipped his hat, actually giving her an understanding look, before following his colleague out the door. Lena was left staring after them, feeling the sting of betrayal, as Titus observed the scene while looking as shocked as Lena felt._

 

“Ms. Luthor!”

Lena snapped out of her memories at the sound of the voice as she looked up, seeing none other than Jess scurry around the corner and practically run up to her. “Jess, what… what are you doing here?”

“Ms. Luthor, I just found out I- I- I’m so sorry, I had no idea, I-” She kept stammering as she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“Jess, you don’t need to apologise, you didn’t do any-”

“But it’s my fault she worked here!!” Jess shot back. “If I hadn’t complained about my cousin being unemployed…”

“You never complained-”

“You hired her because of me…”

“That was my own decision.”

“But still… she’s my responsibility… she’s my family…”

Jess hung her head down as she trembled ever so slightly. “Jess,” Lena stepped closer as she tried to look her assistant in the eye, “I get it.” Jess finally looked up, meeting her boss’s gaze. “If there’s anyone that understands what it’s like to be disappointed by your family… don’t you think that would be me?” Her assistant’s lips were trembling now as she looked more vulnerable than Lena ever thought possible. “You don’t need to apologise for what your family does, Jess. All you can do, is try to be better. And Jess…” Lena looked intently at the woman in front of her, making sure Jess understood that she meant every word “…you _are_ better. Trust me.”

Maybe she’d gone too far. Because next thing she knew, Jess completely broke down and started crying. She sobbed uncontrollably as Lena recognised the sight of someone who’s world had just been turned upside down. She didn’t really know how to comfort people. It wasn’t exactly high on the educational list of the Luthor household. But she remembered how Lex would hold her tightly, whenever their mother’s words would get to her just a little too much. Whenever the woman made her feel unloved and unwanted. So Lena tentatively stepped closer, and carefully put her arms around her assistant in a hug. She felt Jess grabbing the back of her shirt and clutching it as if her life depended on it, as she kept crying like there was no tomorrow. They stood there for a while, Jess continuing her sobbing while Lena awkwardly patted the woman’s back.

After Jess finally calmed down a little, she pulled away from the hug, looking very self-conscious. “I’m… I’m sorry about that. That was… not very…” she stammered while wiping at her eyes. “Jess?” Lena said slowly. The assistant gave her a questioning look. “What did we just say about apologising?” That actually got a small laugh out of her assistant, however brief it was. “Yes, well… ruining your shirt is my own fault, so… I get to apologise for that, right?” Lena chuckled as she glanced down at the slightly wrinkled fabric. “If you insist.”

“Do you need anything right now? Do you need me to fill in, or…”

“Jess, don’t be ridiculous. It’s late and I’ve managed the whole day on my own, although I’ll admit that wasn’t easy.” Jess chuckled as she nodded her head.

“Alright, I’ll- I’ll see you tomorrow then, Ms. Luthor.”

“Are you sure? You can take a few more days if you want to-”

“No, it’s fine.” Jess gave her a small smile, seemingly trying to be reassuring.

Lena wanted to protest, but at that moment she noticed a man rounding the corner and walking up to them. He was wearing a police badge, which contrasted with his civilian clothing. “Can I help-”

Lena was cut off by the man moving his finger to his lips, gesturing her to be quiet. He proceeded to stretch out his arm and calmly move it straight through the wall, demonstrating that only one person could see him right now. Lena took a deep breath as she realised what was happening. There was another ghost.

“Ms. Luthor?”

Lena turned her attention back to her assistant. “Alright, Jess, if you feel up to it… I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jess nodded one last time. “I do. Goodnight, Ms. Luthor.” Lena gave her a small smile before the woman turned to leave. “Goodnight.”

As Jess walked right past this newest apparition from the afterlife, Lena took a moment to take a better look at the man. The first thing that stood out, was that he was very tall. His face had several small scars on it and his short hair was a dark shade of black, although a tint of grey was seeping through. It suddenly struck her that she’d seen the man before. “You were there,” she said, as the man stepped up to face her, “you were there when they arrested me.” The man gave her a small nod. “Yes, I was,” he gestured to the badge on his chest, “I might be dead, but I’m still qualified to be present for police business.” The man cleared his throat while moving his hands to his pockets. “I am detective Rafael Santos. I-”

“You’re Rafael?!”

“Yes, I-”

“Have you seen Sam?!”

Lena didn’t mean for her voice to sound so pleading, but she couldn’t help it. “Yes,” Rafael sighed, “I talked to her.” He gave Lena a pensive look. “I tried to convince her to go back and talk to you, but she wouldn’t listen. I’m afraid she’s still very upset.” Lena’s stomach contorted in unpleasant fashion while thinking about the girl. “I really didn’t want to ask for your help before Sam,” the man continued, “I didn’t… want to abandon another kid.” Rafael bowed his head, looking ashamed for some reason. “But I’ve waited too long already,” he said as he looked back up, “and I need Maggie to know that I don’t hate her.”

Lena gave the man a curious look as she temporarily abandoned her thoughts about Sam. “Maggie?” she asked while frowning in confusion. “You mean detective Sawyer?” The man nodded with a grave expression on his face. “Yes. She’s my daughter.” Lena’s frown grew deeper. “So… how come your last names are different?” Rafael sighed as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “She took her aunt’s name, not too long after moving in with her.”

Lena thought back to the few times that Kara had mentioned this Maggie Sawyer. The reporter had mentioned that the detective was her sister’s girlfriend. That the woman had had the audacity to reject Alex at first, and that she was definitely still mad about that. How the woman was obviously making her sister very happy now, and that she should probably get on board with it. That hadn’t stopped Kara from frowning unusually deep when Maggie had come up the last time they talked, however. While animatedly gesturing with her arms, she’d proclaimed that Maggie had been way out of line when she’d arrested the ‘very innocent, and very good-hearted’ CEO. Lena had actually found herself defending the woman who had put her in handcuffs, explaining that she was just doing her job, while Kara had looked on with an unconvinced expression in those honest blue eyes of hers. That last one was definitely one of her favourite ‘Kara cares about me’ moments. Not that she was keeping track of them. On purpose, at least…

She hadn’t mentioned anything about Maggie changing her name, however. Or about the woman’s father dying. Then again, that might just be something the detective didn’t want to talk about. If it weren’t for the Luthor family history being very public, Lena would definitely refrain from talking about it as well. “So you need to get a message to your daughter?” Lena asked carefully. Rafael gave her a solemn nod, as Lena felt herself relax a little. She’d done something like this before. If she planted too many delayed e-mails someone might discover a pattern, but two of them… with several months in between… that couldn’t hurt, could it? “Okay,” Lena started, “that’s good. If Winn isn’t doing anything tonight, we might actually be able to solve your problem rather quickly, Mr. Santos.” She gave the man an encouraging smile, but the man kept his grave expression in place. “Now, if you don’t mind me asking, when did you die?” Lena asked as she started to grab her phone.

“Four years ago.”

Lena dropped her phone back into her pocket as she closed her eyes in frustration. Well, so much for that plan. Even Gmail wasn’t _that_ irresponsible. “Alright,” Lena started, “that makes things… slightly more complicated.” She crossed her arms as the wheels in her head started turning. “Was there maybe a place where it would be plausible for you to hide something? Somewhere we could leave a letter? If we made it look like it was very old-”

“Ms. Luthor,” Rafael interrupted, “I didn’t insist on receiving your help last just for Sam’s sake.” Lena frowned in confusion, before the man continued. “What I need to tell Maggie… is very personal. In the years that I was still alive, I never tried to make amends. She tried to reach out a few times, but I couldn’t see past my anger. It was only after I died that I realised how wrong I’d been. Only then did I realise how much I really hurt her. I know you’ve been trying to keep your ability a secret, Ms. Luthor. But I need to talk to Maggie… directly.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up as she struggled to keep her composure. “You want me to basically… translate for you?” The man nodded again, as Lena’s eyes grew cold. “That is not an option” she stated firmly.

“Ms. Luthor, listen-”

“No, _you_ listen. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; my life isn’t any less important than your death. I have a company to run and I don’t need… I don’t… it’s not…”

Lena breathed out in frustration as she wasn’t sure why she was faltering. The argument she was making was very logical. It made perfect sense, it was simple self-preservation. But she kept seeing Sam’s face in her head. She kept seeing the girl give her that cold look, while proclaiming that Lena didn’t care. Didn’t care about anything but herself. “Ms. Luthor, I understand” Rafael said carefully. “But correct me if I’m wrong here,” he gave her an intense look, “but you just mentioned a certain Winn, didn’t you?”

“Well… yes.”

“And he knows about your ability?”

“Yes, but…” Lena cleared her throat, feeling defensive “…it’s not like I wanted to tell him. He found out by accident.”

The man shook his head as his expression turned more gentle. “That’s not what I meant. What I mean is that my Maggie knows Winn too.” Lena looked at the man in surprise, realising that if Winn had been the one with her ability, he would’ve probably gone mad by the amount of ghosts he was surrounded with. “Maybe you’re afraid of telling people your secret, because you don’t want to look like a crazy person, am I right?” Lena looked to the side, annoyed by the man’s insight. “You don’t want to compromise yourself or your company, by admitting something so far-fetched.” Lena pursed her lips as she looked back at the detective, feeling aggravated at how good he was at his job. “But what if there was someone there with you?” he continued. “Someone who Maggie already knows, and who knows your secret as well? Someone who can confirm that what you’re telling is the truth?” Lena took a moment to let the man’s words sink in. She couldn’t deny that his words were logical, but the prospect of just coming out and saying: ‘Hey, guess what? I see dead people!’, was not something she was looking forward to.

She wanted to pose a counter argument. Wanted to come up with an alternative. She really did. But as she opened her mouth to speak, the man still looking at her intently, the image of Sam running away filled her thoughts. She remembered the feeling of guilt, the feeling that she truly was these people’s last hope. She felt all the anxiousness of the past week crashing down on her conscience; the feeling of being completely powerless to be able to get to the ghostly girl anymore. So perhaps that was the reason… Perhaps that was why the words that tumbled from her mouth, were not the ones she originally intended to say.

“Alright… we’ll do it your way.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lena hadn’t bitten her nails in ages. It was something her mother had drilled out of her at a very young age, insisting that it was disgusting and not befitting of a true Luthor. Since ‘a true Luthor’ was all she’d wanted to be at  the time, she’d quickly conditioned herself to get rid of the tic. At this moment, however, she couldn’t care less about what kind of Luthor she was. Or that someone might find the habit disgusting. It’s not like Kara was here… Wait, what did Kara have to do with it?

She shook her head as she glanced at her watch again. What the hell was taking Winn so long? Last night, when she’d called him, he had seemed very eager to help. He had been a little distracted (something about him and his girlfriend visiting a museum) but he had promised he would be in her office at 1 PM sharp, to help with this newest apparition. It was 1:15 now…

Lena took out her phone as she texted the man, urging him to get over there immediately. “This is ridiculous. The one time I _really_ need his help…”

Alright, so maybe that wasn’t fair. She couldn’t deny that his presence had been extremely helpful in the past, even if it was just to deflect attention away from herself. But Lena was starting to get nervous now, because Maggie Sawyer was going to be in her office in 15 minutes and it was imperative that Winn was there as well.

“Should I go look for him?”

Lena looked up at the ghost of Rafael Santos. “That would be helpful,” she said, “but I don’t know where he works. He might be gullible, but he hasn’t given me the location of the FBI’s office yet.” Rafael nervously cleared his throat while moving his hands to his pockets. “Maybe I could give it a try anyway. If this-”

“Look” Lena sighed as she gave the man an annoyed look “I think the best thing you can do right now, is to let me know what you need to tell your daughter.” The man shifted nervously on his feet while avoiding the CEO’s eyes. He had refused to tell her why he needed to talk with his daughter, why the woman thought that he hated her and why they hadn’t talked during the last years of the man’s life. Apparently they’d had a big argument, resulting in the girl moving out and living with her aunt. But that was all she’d been able to get out of the man.

“I mean, honestly Rafael,” Lena said, “I’m about to reveal something very personal that could jeopardise my reputation, and you’re basically forcing me to go in blind.” She gave the man a scrutinising look as he was looking at the ground. “That doesn’t seem very practical, now does it? Or fair, for that matter.” The man’s confidence and grave composure from the day before weren’t there anymore, as the current situation seemed to make him just as nervous as Lena. “Ms. Luthor, I… I really…” he looked up at her with an uncertain look in his eyes “…you’re… you’re going to tell her everything yourself in a few minutes anyway, there’s no need-”

“Ms. Luthor…”

Lena and Rafael both looked towards the doors, where Jess tentatively peered into the office. “Detective Sawyer is here to see you.” Lena’s insides froze. “Already?” she asked, glancing back at her watch. “She’s fifteen minutes early.” Jess nodded in understanding.

“That’s what I told her too. Should I… tell her to wait?”

Lena reminded herself to keep her poise and her dignity, forcing herself to supress the rising panic in her chest. “Yes, that… that’s fine. She can wait.” Jess gave a short nod before exiting the office. Lena took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. This was bad. This was really bad. She was about to do something really stupid and her only insurance policy still hadn’t shown up. She took out her phone again and went through her messages, finding that that idiot still hadn’t bothered to let her know where he was. Where was his goddamn enthusiasm when she needed it? He was always eager to an annoying degree when it came to ghostly affairs, and _this_ was the time he decided to go AWOL?

“Alright,” she said, forcing herself to stay calm, “I’m going to call Winn now. And while I do,” she glared at Rafael intently, “you’re going to tell me what you need to tell your daughter, understood?” She went through her contacts, searching for Winn’s number but looked up again when she noticed the man in front of her was remaining silent. “Rafael!”

The man took a deep breath while averting his eyes again. He still wasn’t speaking and Lena was starting to lose her temper. She wasn’t sure how much more her nerves could handle right now. “If you can’t even talk to me, how are you going to say anything when your daughter shows up?!” She glared at the man, feeling her frustration boil up. “What do you-”

_“You can’t go in there!!”_

The doors to Lena’s office swung open, revealing Maggie Sawyer, followed quickly by Jess.

“I’m sorry Ms. Luthor, she just bulldozed right past me!”

“Look,” Maggie said, looking very annoyed, “I’ve got better things to do than wait around all day, alright?”

“ _You_ are the one who showed up early” Lena said, pursing her lips at the intruder and crossing her arms.

“And _you’re_ the one who doesn’t look all that busy right now” Maggie shot back.

Lena was getting annoyed at the woman’s disrespect, as Rafael stepped closer to her. “Ms. Luthor,” he said carefully, “let’s not upset her right away, alright?”

Lena closed her eyes in frustration. She wanted nothing more than to tell the woman that she had no right to barge into people’s offices and demand their attention. Wanted to remind her that Lena Luthor was _always_ busy. But she remembered the last time she had lost her temper while helping a ghost. And she didn’t feel like reliving that experience. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, before turning to her assistant. “Jess… why don’t you step outside. If detective Sawyer would rather wait in here, it would appear we can’t stop her.”

“I could call security…” Jess started while eyeing the detective with contempt, but Lena shot her a warning look. “Fine” Jess huffed out. She backed out of the double doors, closing them on her way out. “Why don’t you have seat, detective” Lena said, trying her best to strike a friendly tone. “My legs work just fine” Maggie responded while glaring at the CEO. Lena closed her eyes for a moment, supressing her instincts, before looking at Maggie again.

“Listen, Ms. Luthor” Maggie started “if this is about me arresting you, I think we both know that I was just doing my job-”

“I know that,” Lena interrupted, “that’s not why I asked you to come here.”

“Oh.” Maggie looked slightly surprised, albeit still somewhat suspicious. “Well… if it’s about the stolen samples from your labs, you know I can’t disclose anything about ongoing investigations, right?” Lena sighed, as she really wished that Winn would show up right about now.

“No, that’s not-”

“And the same goes for your missing scientist…”

“Detective,” Lena said firmly, “this is not about dr. Runnels, either.” She took a deep breath and straightened her skirt. “I need to tell you something important, but I’m waiting for… an associate of mine.” Lena nervously cleared her throat. “I didn’t ask you to wait out of pettiness, detective. The man in question just seems to have a knack for being late.” Maggie seemed to let go of her suspicious stance a little, but still gave her a small frown.

“And… you can’t tell me anything without this… associate?” she asked carefully.

“No, I… I really think it’s best if we wait for him” Lena said hesitantly. “Look, I’m... I’m sorry for the delay. I’ll call him right now, alright?” Maggie nodded as she moved her hands to her pockets, a gesture mirrored by her father earlier, and seemed to throw a glance at the liquor standing in the corner. Lena took out her phone, feeling very much caught in the middle, as she turned around to face her window and pressed the call button, noticing Rafael was looking very uneasy while eyeing his daughter. Like _he_ was the one putting his credibility on the line, Lena thought bitterly. _Come on, Winn. Pick up, pick up…_

The silence in the office was suddenly broken by a muffled and metallic sound coming from behind the CEO. Lena turned back around to identify the source of the noise with her phone still pressed to her ear. The sound got louder, as Maggie apparently took a phone out of her back pocket and looked at the screen with a deep frown. Lena suddenly recognised the ringtone as a videogame-like version of Darth Vader’s theme. But that couldn’t be right, could it? She knew exactly who would have a ringtone like that, but that was-

“Are you calling Winn right now?” Maggie said as she looked up at Lena with an incredulous expression. Lena couldn’t help a look of shock from forming on her face, as she lowered her phone. “Why do you have his phone?” she asked warily.

“Well… he left it at the precinct this morning-”

“You arrested Winn?!”

Maggie was giving her a curious look. “Not technically, but he _is_ in a bit of a mess. Is he… is he your ‘associate’?” she asked with a small laugh. Lena let out a shaky breath, because this was not good. “Yes, um… kind of, he…” she shook her head, deciding this was not the right moment to divulge her secret. She used to pride herself on not needing anyone but in this situation, Winn’s presence was not optional. “Look, I’m sorry to have wasted your time,” Lena said as she moved towards the doors in order to show the detective out, “you can come back another time-”

“Whoa, whoa,” Maggie put herself in front of Lena, preventing her from stepping any further, “wait just a minute, now. Since when do you know Winn? And how is he your associate?” The detective now seemed curious, more than anything, as she gave the CEO a small smirk. “I know the guy is pretty smart, but from what I hear you’re no slouch either. Why would you need him here, just to tell me something?” Lena was now scrambling to come up with a response, nervously darting her eyes across the room.

“Look, I… I really think it’s best if we rescheduled… I can’t…”

“Alright then,” Maggie said, not moving from her spot but instead pulling out her phone with a smirk still in place, “in that case, I’m sure little Danvers can tell me what’s going on.” She started to tap away on her phone as Lena gave her a confused frown. “Little Danvers?” she asked.

“Yeah. Kara Danvers.”

“No!!”

Maggie’s eyes widened at the outburst and Lena’s panicked expression. Doomsday scenarios were flashing through Lena’s mind at an impressive speed: Kara finding out about her friendship with Winn. Winn not being able to shut up about how they met. Kara thinking she was crazy. Kara not wanting to see her anymore. Kara thinking she was a freak. Kara looking at her with disgust in those perfect and honest eyes of hers. Those honest blue eyes that would never look at her the same way again…

“I’ll tell you everything, just… just put the phone away, please.”

Maggie’s surprised look turned to a satisfied one, as she put her phone away and crossed her arms, waiting for the young CEO to speak. “I- I, um…” Lena felt incredibly frustrated at her inability to be articulate right now, as she glanced to her side at Rafael.

“Just start with yourself, Ms. Luthor” the man said encouragingly, “first your secret, then you can get to me.” Lena nodded to herself. Right, that was logical.

“I, um… see things…” Lena groaned internally as Maggie raised her brow at her. Great start, Lena. “When… when I was a kid… my father died…” Okay, a little more direction now, that was something. “I didn’t believe it at the time… I thought I was hallucinating, but… I saw him. After he died that is.” Just keep talking, that was the key, there was no going back now. “I… I only figured it out when I was older. Almost… two years ago, now. That I was seeing dead people, that is… I-”

Lena fell silent at the sound of Maggie’s stifled laughter. “What kind of prank is this?” the detective said, looking amused. “Am I gonna be on candid camera?” Lena looked on in shock as the detective let her eyes go over the office. “I’m sorry, Luthor, but you’ll need to find slightly more gullible people to fool” Maggie said, still chuckling.

“I…” Lena stammered, “…I wouldn’t be telling you this, if there were cameras here.”

“Yeah, right…”

“No,” Lena started “this is… this is not… I need to help someone…”

“Uh-huh, sure.”

“I need to help your father.”

Maggie’s eyes instantly went cold as she rested them on the CEO. “Okay,” she said in a low voice, “you need to watch it now.”

“No, I’m… I’m serious” Lena stammered, throwing a glance towards Rafael, “he’s here right now. He needs to talk to you-”

“Cut the bullshit, Luthor” Maggie said, who was clearly turning angry now. “My dad was an asshole and if he was still here, we would have nothing to say to each other. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s not funny and I-”

“No, Maggie, it’s real.” Lena sent another pleading look in Rafael’s direction. “He’s standing right here, he’s-”

“I’m warning you, Luthor…”

“He’s really tall, at least 6 foot 6-”

“I’m telling you to shut up!!”

Lena looked at the ghost beside of her, trying to pick out more details to describe to prove his presence in the room. “He has this small scar under his left eye that kind of looks like-”

Suddenly Lena felt herself being pushed up against the wall, her head snapping back against it. She felt dizzy for a moment but when she regained focus, she realised Maggie was grabbing her shirt with her left hand, pressing the fist it was forming into her stomach. The woman’s right forearm was pressed across her collarbone, while unintentionally (or maybe not) closing off the lower part of her windpipe. Lena was completely immobilized, while looking into the rage-filled eyes of the detective. “You’re going to tell me right now why you’ve been looking up dead relatives of mine, do you hear me, Luthor?!”

“I- it’s not-” Lena was struggling to form words, not just due to her shock but also thanks to her air supply being partially cut off. “I don’t care how many lawyers you’ve got,” Maggie growled with fury, “you better have a damn good excuse to try and get under my skin or I’ll make sure you won’t be seeing sunlight for a long time!!”

“Ms. Luthor!” Rafael exclaimed urgently, Lena struggling to tilt her head towards him. “You need to tell her this… tell her these words exactly: _Las estrellas no caerán, si tu no las agarras tú misma._ ”

“Oh, come on,” Lena wheezed out, “I can’t pronounce that.”

“You better start making sense, Luthor,” Maggie growled, continuing her rant, “or I swear to god-”

“Ms. Luthor, please just tell her!”

Lena realised that she was starting to run out of air; she was trying to push the small detective’s arm away, but it was pressing against her throat with surprising force. She didn’t get a chance to think too much about it. With the little breath she could muster, she tried to repeat the man’s words as precisely as she could, silently cursing herself for never taking a Spanish class. As the last syllable left her lips, she felt the pressure release from her throat and stomach as Maggie suddenly stepped back. Lena wheezed for air as she bent over, trying to get control of her breathing.

“Where… where did you hear that?” Maggie asked with a trembling voice.

Lena was vaguely aware that the woman was staring at her with wide eyes, but she was currently still forcing the air to flow normally through her windpipe. She coughed a few times, before straightening herself and meeting the gaze of the smaller detective. “I told you… your father is here.” Maggie was now shaking her head with a look of shock and disbelief. “No, that’s… that’s not possible, things like this…” Maggie kept stammering as she looked down at her feet while shaking her head. Rafael stepped closer to her, slowly beginning to speak.

“I told you that, right after you watched a Disney movie for the first time” the man said, addressing Maggie directly. “You were looking out of the window, asking me if you could wish upon a star, even if it wasn’t a falling one. I thought I had to make sure you didn’t rely on fantasies. That I had to make sure you didn’t waste your life wishing for things to happen, instead of _making_ things happen. That the stars won’t fall, unless you take them down yourself. But you just laughed at me… You told me that I wasn’t very good at being a wise old man and that I should stick with being a cop. It was the first time you made fun of me…”

Lena felt silly repeating every word the man said, but this didn’t seem the right time to start paraphrasing. Maggie was starting to look more and more shocked at every word, her expression revealing someone who was seeing the impossible unfold before their eyes.

“It became a running joke” the man continued. “Anytime I tried to lecture you or tell you something important, you would just shoot it back at me: _Las estrellas no caerán, si tu no las agarras tú misma._ ” The man gave a weak smile. “And you’d just end up laughing your ass off at me. And most of the times, I laughed with you.” Maggie looked like she was finally convinced of the man’s presence, as she brought a hand up to her mouth, trembling ever so slightly, and looked incredulously at the spot Lena was glancing towards. “I’m… I’m so sorry, mija. I shouldn’t have kicked you out… I shouldn’t have said all those things…”

Maggie was clearly still rattled and trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. As Lena pronounced the man’s apology, however, she seemed to flinch, lowering her hand and glancing suspiciously at the spot where she now knew the man had to be standing. “Can… can he hear me?” she asked with a shaking voice, while looking at Lena.

“Yes,” Lena responded, “he sees and hears everything, it’s just… it’s just him that’s invisible to the world.”

Maggie’s eyes steeled as she looked back to the empty space beside the CEO. “You called me a monster,” she said, voice slightly wavering but anger seeping through, “you said I was disgusting. _Una puta desviada,_ remember?”

“I know…”

“You had no right…”

“Maggie, I know…”

“I WAS FOURTEEN, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!!”

Maggie was now clearly fighting back tears, despite her angry tone. Rafael sighed deeply before speaking again, as Lena diligently relayed every word. “I know, mija,” he said, “and I’m sorry. I wish I could take it all back, I really do. But there’s one thing I need you to understand, alright?” The man stepped closer to his daughter, as he too seemed to be struggling to hold back his emotions. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. You have every right to stay mad at me for the rest of your life, but I need you to know this…” the man took a deep breath before continuing. “Since I’ve died, I’ve watched you grow into a woman. I’ve seen you take bullshit from every angle, trying to become a good cop and a good detective, after that. I’ve seen you cry… I’ve seen you fall in love and I’ve seen you get your heart broken… I’ve watched you tell the story of your first crush… and how your father kicked you out…” he let out another breath “I know it should have taken a lot less than me dying for me to get it. I know that I should have seen it before. But the important thing is that I _do_ get it now. That you’re still… normal… that you’re still my Maggie… even if you’re gay…”

Lena’s eyes widened at the statement and she stuttered on the last words. So that’s what this was about. Jesus…

Maggie’s face was now contorting in a mixture of anger and a valiant pursuit to fight back her tears, while Rafael carried on: “However you wish to remember me… Whatever you think about me after today is up to you, but please trust me when I tell you this, Maggie…” the man balled his fists to prevent his hands from trembling “I don’t hate you. You will always be my daughter, and I’m so sorry for not telling you when I was still alive. Do you hear me, Maggie? I don’t hate you… whatever you do, please don’t ever forget that. I don’t hate you…”

Maggie crossed her arms and looked at the floor. She stayed quiet for a beat, before slowly nodding her head. “Okay… fine, I’ll… I’ll remember that…” she stammered with an unsteady voice, still looking at the floor.

Rafael let out a long breath, as if the weight of the world had just been lifted of his shoulders and his entire body seemed to relax. “Good…” He took a moment, seemingly taking in the image of his daughter for a second. “For what it’s worth, I… I think you found yourself a good one this time” Rafael said carefully. Maggie looked up in surprise. “I’m talking about Alex…” the man said, “I know you never liked it when I was trying to be wise,” he let out a small chuckle, “but you really managed to pluck yourself a star from the sky this time.”

Maggie’s face contorted while a tear now made its way down her cheek. She stared from Lena to the space beside her, as if she was trying to figure out what to say but eventually, she just hung her head down again. “I love you, mija…” Rafael said softly, “and I’m sorry for everything…”

Lena’s breath hitched in her throat when she noticed that the man was starting to emit light. The faint glow was starting to seep through his skin, and Lena had to remind herself to snap out of her translator role. “He’s, um… he’s passing on now…” Maggie’s head shot up now as she gave Lena a wide-eyed look. “What… what does that mean?” she asked, sounding slightly panicked. “Well,” Lena started, “after… after I help these… these ghosts with their problems they… they leave this place…”

“I don’t… I don’t understand, what-”

“He’s turning into light,” Lena explained, “once the light fades, he’ll be gone for good.”

“No! Dad, wait…!”

Maggie shot an uncertain look at the place she knew her father was supposed to be standing, her mouth opening and closing as if trying to figure out what to say. Lena watched the scene unfold, as the light was growing brighter and started to move over the man’s body. “I don’t… I don’t hate you either…” Maggie said weakly. “I don’t hate you, dad…” Lena watched as the man gave a wide smile. “Thank you,” he spoke, his voice echoing as if it was coming from far away, “Thank you, mija…”

The light now moved over his face as Lena relayed his last words to his daughter, who was wiping at her tears. “The light is completely covering him now,” Lena explained, “and it’s starting to pull apart.” Lena watched on, while Maggie looked at the CEO in front of her. “The light is… forming small orbs… and they’re floating away.” Lena looked on as the glowing lights came to a stop and remained still for a second. “They’re fading now. They’re… the lights, they’re growing weaker.” Lena let her eyes go over every one of the orbs and watched them dim, and dim, the glow finally extinguishing into nothing.

“He’s… he’s gone.”

Lena swallowed nervously and finally looked back at the living detective in front of her. Maggie let out a ragged breath and looked down again, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. Lena thought she should probably say something. Maybe something comforting or reassuring, even if they were still practically strangers. But what were you supposed to say after something like that? Before Lena could figure out the exact words to say to the woman, however, Maggie suddenly stepped closer. Lena flinched instinctively, the feeling of being choked still fresh in her memory, but the detective simply hugged her tightly while letting out another shaky breath. “Thank you,” she said softly. Lena cleared her throat and softly patted the woman’s back, considering the improbable odds of her actually comforting two different people in the span of 24 hours. They stood there for a while, before Maggie eventually stepped back and gave one last sniff.

As Lena nervously cleared her throat, the detective started to frown. “I don’t get it, though,” Maggie said as her eyes met Lena’s, “why didn’t you just let me call Kara? We could have avoided the part where I… practically assaulted you. Sorry about that, by the way.” Lena let out a small chuckle while unconsciously letting her hand go over her sore throat. “Well, Kara… she doesn’t… she doesn’t actually know.” Maggie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “She doesn’t know?! But Winn does?!”

“Yeah, well… he figured it out on his own,” Lena grumbled, “he’s smarter than he looks.” Maggie let out a small laugh before wiping away the remainder of her tears. “So you- you really didn’t tell Kara about the ghost thing?”

“No,” Lena said, turning serious, “and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell her either. Or anyone else, for that matter.” Maggie looked surprised, but briefly raised her hand in defeat. “Okay, if that’s… if that’s what you really want.” She kept looking at Lena, appearing to be curious. “I’m just surprised, is all I’m saying. I mean, the way she gushes about you all the time… I got the sense that you two told each other everything.” Lena’s head snapped to attention, her heartbeat picking up for some reason.

“Gushes…?”

Maggie laughed, giving the CEO a dimpled grin. “Well, yeah. She’s always on about Lena this, and Lena that. And apparently she goes off on anyone who suggests that you’re like your family. I’ve heard that those rants can go on for quite some time. Alex calls them ‘Kara’s Lena Lectures’.” Lena couldn’t help a wide smile from forming on her face while she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. Of course she never thought that Kara would be the kind of person to whisper behind her back. Those honest eyes of hers would never look at Lena and lie to her face; telling her that she had the youngest Luthor’s back, only to turn around and spew venom when she wasn’t around. But still, hearing a first person account of Kara’s trust… Hearing how she was always protective of her, no matter the company she was in… It filled her chest with a warm feeling, and made her heart beat a lot faster than usual.

“Luthor? You still with me…?”

Lena inhaled sharply, realising she’d been staring off into the distance, before turning her attention back to Maggie. “Yes, I’m…” she cleared her throat “I’m fine, just… I really don’t want Kara to know.” Maggie gave her a curious look, quirking her eyebrow and giving a small smirk. “Alright…” she said slowly, “but you know she wouldn’t mind, right? You know she’d still be defending your honour all the same.” Lena felt that warm feeling rise in her chest again at the thought of Kara standing up for her, but she forced herself to keep a straight face. “You might be right, but… I’d rather never have to find out” she said coolly.

“Alright, well, it’s your choice.” The corners of Maggie’s mouth briefly twitched, as if she was trying to supress a grin. “I’m the last person who would out someone like that.” The detective gave a small sigh as she looked at the place where the ghost of her father had just been standing. “Thank you, Lena” she said solemnly. “Honestly… if you ever need anything, just let me know alright?”

“I’ll… I’ll keep that in mind” Lena responded.

Maggie smiled one last time before turning around and walking out of the office. Lena let out a long sigh and slumped into one of the visitor’s chairs while carefully letting her hand go over the lower part of her throat. That could’ve gone worse, she supposed. She could’ve been choked to death, for example. Or she could’ve been thrown in jail. Or Kara could’ve found out about everything. She wasn’t sure which one of those options was more terrifying. I mean… Kara was good person. No, that was a grave understatement; Kara was the kindest, brightest and most loyal person Lena had ever met. She was the incarnation of all that was right with the world, and maybe Maggie was right… maybe Kara wouldn’t care… But the fear was still there. As she kept stroking the sensitive part of her windpipe, she realised that she truly never wanted to see the face Kara would make, if she ever told her. Only once had she seen a look of disappointment in those honest eyes of hers. That was the time that the very detective who’d just left her office, had shown Kara the tampered security footage. And seeing that look once… was more than enough.

It didn’t matter anyway. Rafael was the last ghost, after all. All she had to do now, was find a way to avoid the future that Lionel had predicted. Make sure the city wouldn’t end up in chaos, by ensuring that her mother would once again be put behind bars. Well, that and… one more thing. Just one more piece of unfinished business she wouldn’t rest on: Sam. She would find a way to get to the girl. She would make sure that-

Lena inhaled sharply upon remembering something. She had been so focused on the needs of the dead, that she’d almost completely forgotten about something Maggie had just said. _Shit._ She hurriedly grabbed her purse and practically ran out of her office, leaving a very confused Jess behind.

“Ms. Luthor…?”

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“Well, you’re more forgiving than me, I’ll tell you that” James said while picking up a fry and looking across the booth.

“Come on, she was just helping her brother,” Winn responded, while giving James a pleading look, "you of all people should be able to appreciate that.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” James said while frowning.

At that moment the doors of Noonan’s flew open, revealing Lena Luthor with a very concerned look on her face. She looked from left to right and upon spotting Winn, she immediately made her way over to the small booth he was sitting in. The man, seeing her concerned expression, quickly got out of his seat as well. “Lena! Are… are you alright?”

Lena came to a stop and gave the man an incredulous look. “Am _I_ alright?! Jesus, Winn, I’m the one that should be asking that! You got arrested?!”

“Oh, that!” Winn laughed. “Well, not- not technically,” he chuckled nervously, “the idiot who brought me in forgot to sign the arrest warrant. Don’t worry, though,” he held his hands out reassuringly, “everything got cleared up, I’m a free man again.” He gave her one of his wide grins as Lena let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh god!!” Winn suddenly exclaimed, his eyes going wide. “Maggie! You had to- And I wasn’t- Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even think about it anymore! How did- what happened- Is she-” Lena held out her hand to try and calm him down. “It’s alright, Winn. Everything went… relatively well.” She smiled reassuringly while Winn sighed a breath of relief. “I’m so sorry, Lena,” he said, “I’m such a crappy sidekick, I-”

“Sidekick?”

Lena’s insides froze, as she saw the figure of James Olsen stand up from the seat in the booth that was facing away from her. He had been sitting there this whole time... _Shit._ He looked from Winn to Lena and back again, while a frown was forming on his face. “You two… know each other?” Winn opened and closed his mouth a few times, while Lena maintained her composure and furiously thought of an answer. “Yeah…” Winn said slowly, “we’re kind of… buddies-”

Lena shot him a warning look, urging Winn to shut it, but the damage had already been done. “Really?” James said, sounding suspicious. “Since when?” Lena cleared her throat, realising she’d rather be anywhere but here right now, and praying that Winn would steer the conversation elsewhere if she made herself scarce. “Look, I- I have to get back to the office, but… I’m glad you’re okay.” She smiled cautiously at Winn, before giving James a small nod. “Mr. Olsen.” James nodded as well, his frown still in place. “Ms. Luthor” he greeted back, before Lena turned and headed towards the exit.

Winn and James stood next to each other and watched the young CEO walk out of the door, before James turned to face his friend. “What was all that? Since when are you two friends?”

Winn darted his eyes back and forward nervously. “Oh, pfft, like… a long time ago… well, not that long. We sort of, um… bonded over Star Wars! Yes, that- that actually happened!” He smiled unsurely at James, who still didn’t seem convinced.

“I see…” the taller man said slowly, “…and she just dropped everything to come and check on you? Even knowing that you got arrested?” Winn waved his hand dismissively, while looking very nervous. “Well, sure, I mean… friends do that, right? We, like, worry about each other. That’s normal; people worry. Like… she and Kara worry about each other too, right? And… and Kara and Alex, you know, or you and Jimmy-”

“Jimmy?!”

Winn froze, knowing very well he screwed up. “I never told you about Jimmy” James said slowly, while looking at Winn with wide eyes.

“I- what- pfft, sure… I mean, sure you did. Why wouldn’t you mention your brother to-”

“I never said he was my brother, either.”

Winn was stammering now, trying to find a plausible excuse to his slips-ups. “Winn,” James said very slowly, “what the hell is going on? How are you Lena Luthor’s sidekick? And what did Maggie have to do with it?” Winn met his friend’s eyes before hanging his head and letting out a long groan. He looked down at his shoes, cursing his lack of secretive abilities before looking back up again. Lena was going to kill him…

 

“You better sit down for this, buddy…”

 

 


	9. Jack Spheer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During and after 2x18
> 
> I usually make a point of not re-hashing scenes from the show, but this one (as well as a few in the next chapter) were just too important.

 

_April 19 th 2017 _

Lena hated airports.

The crowds, the long waiting times that effectively wasted your day. Not to mention the fact that she would be spending all that time dreading the prospect of getting on to one of those death traps. Statistically speaking it might be safe, but Lena still hated flying. Today, however, she would have much preferred her trip to National City Airport to have been for a 12-hour flight. She hadn’t actually been there since arriving from Metropolis; most of her international business meetings being held through video conference. But she didn’t think she would have ever predicted her next visit to be under these gloomy circumstances. She might already hate airports, but the place became infinitely more dreary when you were there to see off the coffin of your ex-boyfriend. Jack’s family had actually invited her to Metropolis to come and attend the funeral, but Lena thought she would definitely feel out of place. If you didn’t count the last few days, she hadn’t seen or talked to Jack in almost two years. She didn’t think that her presence would be warranted when his parents and his sister were burying him.

As she stepped out of the airport’s main building and got in her car, she could feel an anxious feeling setting on. As Trevor steered the car into the street, she couldn’t help but worry why she was acting so calm. This was not normal, was it? When people lost someone that was this close to them, they surely had to be feeling something more? It didn’t make any sense. She kept worrying for the entire drive to her office. Even as she stepped out of the vehicle and entered her building, she kept pondering about the absence of more intense feelings. She ignored the worried look Titus gave her, swiftly stepping into her elevator, as she was not in the mood for anyone’s pity. The elevator arrived at her floor and Lena stepped out, moving past her assistant’s desk.

“Ms. Luthor, are you-”

“I don’t want to talk about it, Jess.”

She stepped into her office, ignoring her assistant’s worried look, and closed the doors behind her before leaning against them and closing her eyes while letting out a long sigh. She had only seen one person be this calm after a tragedy. She had tried everything she could to not be like her, but what if years of assimilation was something she just couldn’t overcome? What if she would end up like the rest of her deranged family, whether she wanted to or not? Lena opened her eyes when she heard something familiar.

Someone was humming…

Someone was in her office, humming that one tune by Elvis Presley. She could never remember the name of the song, because he would always just hum it; claiming he was a terrible singer. The humming continued while Lena lifted her head, her expression turning incredulous as she looked towards her desk. Jack was leaning against it… Humming the same tune that Lena had heard so many times when they were still together in Metropolis.

“Jack…?”

The man was already looking at her, smiling widely albeit with sad eyes as she met his gaze. “Hello, Lena.”

Lena stood there for a moment, looking at the apparition of Jack Spheer. He was wearing what she remembered being his favourite white suit; a stark contrast to the dark one she’d seen him in earlier, before they’d closed the lid of the coffin. “How… how did you know I would be able to see you?” she asked weakly. Jack stepped closer and gave her a fond look. “Apparently, you’re kind of an urban legend in the ghost world” he explained. “They whisper stories about someone who is able to see them, despite few of them actually believing it. When they mentioned the unparalleled beauty of this mysterious woman, however, I was sure it could only be you.” He gave her one of his cheeky smiles, as Lena let out a short chuckle.

“I’m glad to see that dying hasn’t put a dent in your charms” she smirked wryly. She took a deep breath as she moved past the ghost and put her bag down beside the couch before turning around to face him again. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”

The man’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “For wat?” he asked. Lena gave him an incredulous look. “For… for basically killing you.” Jack’s expression softened. “You did the right thing, Lena. If you hadn’t overridden the code, Supergirl would have-”

“Can we not talk about her right now?” Lena interjected with ice in her voice. She knew that the superhero wasn’t to blame for what had happened. But that didn’t stop her mind from imagining what might have happened if Supergirl hadn’t gotten herself trapped by the storm of nanobots. It didn’t stop her from bitterly realising that every other time the alien showed up, she would end up losing someone she cared for. She sensed that anxious feeling setting on again, wondering if this is how Lex had gone mad. She wondered what would happen the next time the hero caused collateral damage. What would happen the next time she lost someone…

She nervously cleared her throat, temporarily forcing the scary thoughts to the back of  her mind. “I’m guessing if you’re still here, there’s someone that needs your help?” Lena asked. Jack gave her a sad look while nodding his head. “So…” Lena started, “I guess we’re going to have to go to Metropolis?”

“That’s up to you, really.”

Lena gave the man a confused look as she stepped closer to the table; Jack standing on the other side of it. “What do you mean? Your entire family lives in Metropolis, don’t they?” Jack nodded. “They do, but… I think they’ll manage.” He looked her over once. “I’m more worried about you, though.” Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Me?”

“Yes, Lena. You. People haven’t exactly… warmed up to the Luthor name yet, despite all the things you’ve done with your company. Yes, I’ve keeping up with you.” He gave her a playful wink, but Lena wasn’t in the mood for levity at the moment. “I just need to know that you’re not alone. I just…” he shrugged “…need to know that you’re loved.” He proceeded to shape his hands in the form of a heart and placing them over his chest, giving her an ironic pout in the process. God, he really was ridiculous. Lena sighed while sitting down on her couch and crossing her legs, her mental exhaustion catching up with her. “I’m afraid you might be waiting for a very long time, then” she shot back.

“Now why would you say something like that?”

Lena scoffed, as Jack just gave her a look that was a little too close to pity for her liking. “I’m not… normal, Jack. I-” She paused, looking for the right words. “You were the only one I ever let in, Jack. We’ve known each other for a long time and… you’re the only one I’ve ever had a serious relationship with, you know that.” Lena looked at the man unsurely, while Jack just nodded in understanding. “But you died yesterday and… I… I just…” Lena closed her eyes for a second, letting out a frustrated breath through her nose. “It’s not that I don’t care.” She opened her eyes again and looked at Jack. “But you basically died in my arms… We kissed again just two days ago and now you’re dead and… I don’t feel anything, Jack. People cry rivers over the ones they love, but you’re here, very much dead and I just don’t…” She shook her head, not knowing how to explain.

“Lena,” Jack interrupted, “have you considered that… maybe there’s another reason why you’re not completely stricken by grief right now?” Lena looked up in surprise, as Jack didn’t seem at all concerned about her apparent lack of emotions. “What do you mean?” she asked warily. Jack smiled while stepping to the side of the table as Lena followed him with her eyes. “Back in Metropolis, we were happy,” he started, “we were just toiling away in our lab, spending basically every minute of the day together. We were in love…” He smiled at her fondly. “But it’s okay if you don’t… how did you put it? ‘Cry rivers over me’.” He let out a short chuckle. “It’s okay, because I think it’s pretty obvious… you’re not in love with me anymore.”

“Jack, that’s- that’s not-”

“Lena,” he smiled reassuringly, “it’s okay. We’ve been apart for a year and a half. You had every right to get over me. Especially after how things ended.”

“But, we… we kissed…”

“I know. And I think we both know it wasn’t the same anymore.”

“The nanobots-”

“Had nothing to do with it” Jack interrupted. “I was there, Lena. I wanted to kiss you… but I could tell your heart wasn’t in it anymore.”

Lena felt the urge to protest, but unfortunately she was short on verbal ammunition. It _was_ different. It had been familiar and easy, even. Going back to something she was comfortable with. _Someone_ she was comfortable with. But the man was right… it _had_ been different, and Lena felt that anxious feeling coming on again. Was she now completely going void of any emotion? Was she not capable of caring for someone anymore? Was she slowly turning into her mother, despite all her efforts to avoid it?

She was still looking at the ghost in front of her, trying to find a way to voice her fears, when she heard the doors to her office open and then close again. She looked over to the side, to see the only person that was allowed to step into her office unannounced. Kara was holding a small flower arrangement, looking as sad as Lena wished she could be feeling right now.

“Those are beautiful” Lena stated while looking at the arrangement.

“I wish there was more I could do to help” Kara sighed, as she put the flowers on the table. Lena looked down for a second, wondering what she ever did to deserve the woman’s friendship. “You came to see me, that’s more than enough.” Kara let out a small sigh before meeting Lena’s eyes again.  “Beth is in  jail…”

“Good.”

Kara looked from left to right for a moment, seemingly not knowing what to say, before moving towards the couch and sitting down next to Lena. “How you holding up?”

Lena considered the question for a moment. She considered how she could possibly explain the sense of detachment she was feeling to the kindest and most caring person she’d ever met. How she could explain the anxious feeling that had been plaguing her since she realised what she could be turning into.

“When Lex was arrested, my mother was there” Lena started. “My mother saw her son… dragged, bleeding and raving from her house. And when I got there, Lillian was tidying his room like he’d been away on a business trip.” Lena clenched her jaw. “That’s how I feel,” she stated bitterly, “cold and calm. Until I think about Beth dying in jail and then I feel warm for a minute.”

Kara shook her head at her. “You’re in shock, Lena.”

“I don’t know,” Lena shot back, “loss does strange things to my family and I have lost a lot of people…”

“Well, you’re not going to lose me.”

There it was…

The one thing that seemed to get through to her since Jack had died. Lena felt her emotions flooding back to her, because what if she _did_ lose her? What if Supergirl would get Kara into trouble? What if the alien woman went on another rampage like she did last year, and what if Kara got caught in the middle of it? As the anxiousness returned to her chest and her eyes started to burn, she suddenly wished she would feel numb again. She was suddenly scared of feeling too much. Because she realised that if anything happened to Kara, she wouldn’t care anymore. She wouldn’t care about all the efforts she’d made to turn her company around or about not turning into her brother. She realised that she’d only care to punish the people responsible. Even if that meant turning into a monster. Even if it meant going after Supergirl…

“I think when I feel things again, I’m…” Lena hesitated, not sure she was ready for Kara to know the full extent of her dark thoughts, “I’m going to be very, very afraid… about the person I might be…”

Kara didn’t seem fazed by her cryptic words. Instead, she just scooted closer to her on the couch and put her arm around her shoulders. “You don’t have to be afraid” Kara said softly, as Lena instinctively grabbed hold of her hand. “I’m right here… and I’m not going anywhere.”

You would think that after all these months Lena would’ve gotten used to Kara’s unwavering loyalty, but she still huffed out a small laugh at the absurdity of it all. “Promise?” Kara rubbed her shoulder reassuringly and slowly placed a kiss right above her eyebrow before gently resting her head against Lena’s. Lena closed her eyes, wondering how the woman could make her feel this warm and safe without saying a word.

“I will always be your friend,” Kara said with conviction, “and I will always protect you...” Lena opened her eyes upon hearing a familiar humming sound and inhaled briefly, her eyes widening slightly at the sight before her. “…I promise.”

Jack was sitting on the table, looking at Lena, while humming that tune again… and he was starting to emit light. Lena watched on in astonishment as Jack didn’t say a word. He just kept humming his tune with a serene smile on his face. As the light grew stronger, he placed his hands over his chest again, shaping them in the form of a heart, while still looking at her. Lena held onto Kara’s hand as if her life depended on it, clenching her jaw, because Kara might have melted her numbness… she might finally be getting hit with a truckload of delayed emotions. But she was Lena Goddamn Luthor and she didn’t cry in front of people. Even if one of them was dead and the other was the sweetest person in the whole damn world, the one person she felt she could trust with anything. Anything… except what was happening in front of her right now.

Jack’s humming grew fainter, starting to echo as if coming from far away, while the light started to move towards his stomach. She could still hear the song coming from his form, even as the light moved across his face and enveloped his entire body. She could still hear it, even when the outline of his figure within the bright light was all that was recognizable about him. However, as the lights started to separate into smaller pieces and detaching themselves, Lena still tightly holding onto Kara’s hand while fighting the burning feeling in her eyes, the humming finally started to fade. The room turned completely quiet, while the shining orbs floated away from each other and came to a stop in the air.

Lena was afraid that, with the force she was holding onto it, she might be hurting Kara’s hand at this point but her best friend didn’t say a word. Perhaps sensing that Lena just needed her to be there and didn’t want to talk right now, she kept gently rubbing her shoulder with her right hand, while graciously allowing Lena to keep a vice grip on her left. Lena just kept looking at the orbs while they slowly faded, finally realising that this was it. As the lights kept dimming, she was infinitely grateful for Kara’s presence. Because as the orbs disappeared into nothingness, she realised that this would’ve been the part where she would’ve felt terribly alone. But now that Jack was gone, now that the room’s only light was coming from the windows, she had physical proof that she was in fact not alone. She realised she was still holding on to that proof with excessive force and finally relaxed her grip a little, although she still didn’t let go.

They sat there for a long time, Lena feeling incredibly vulnerable and small. With anyone else that would have been a problem. If it was anyone else that was sitting beside her, she would have been thoroughly ashamed of herself. But even though Kara made her feel safe like no one else did, she still felt that anxious feeling brewing inside of her. That feeling, that was reminding her of Sam’s harsh words; that she only cared about her company and Kara. That feeling, that she might turn out to be as crazy as her brother. That feeling, that made her question whether she could bare it to lose someone else. So despite Kara being the only person she didn’t feel the need to maintain her poise and her dignity around, despite the fact that with her she could just be Lena and not the CEO of L-Corp, she still felt embarrassed at the words she couldn’t stop herself from uttering. “Kara…”

The former reporter lifted her head from Lena’s and met her eyes, Lena knowing very well that the look she was giving Kara, was surely pitiful.

“…please don’t die on me…”

Kara’s eyebrows shot up as she immediately pulled her closer for a proper hug. “O, Lena…”

Lena felt incredibly self-conscious, but buried her face in the crook of Kara’s neck anyway, glad that no one could see her expression right now. She felt guilty for proving Sam right, but the thought of Kara not being there anymore scared her more than anything she could imagine. And maybe it was selfish. Maybe it was just the fear that it would drive her crazy, ruining her chances to have her own legacy once and for all. But whatever it was, she felt the need to hold onto Kara as tightly as she could, just to remind herself that she was still there.

“Ms. Luthor- Oh god, I’m sorry!”

Lena shot up from the couch, trying to compose herself, although she was painfully aware that her face was probably a mess right now. Jess was standing on the threshold of the room, looking at the floor while her cheeks turned red, as she was clearly embarrassed to have interrupted a moment. “I’m- I’m so sorry,” Jess stammered, “but you have a meeting on the second floor in fifteen minutes.” Lena cleared her throat and made sure her eyes were dry before looking at her assistant. “Thank you, Jess, I’ll be out in a minute.” Jess just nodded before quickly making herself scarce.

“Lena, you can’t be serious!”

Lena turned to the side to see Kara standing up from the couch and stepping closer while looking concerned. “You can’t tell me that you’re actually going to be working today?!” Lena let out a humourless laugh while rubbing the back of her neck. “Someone has to keep this ship sailing,” she stated bitterly, “otherwise you will forever be the only one who doesn’t believe I’ll end up like my family.” She conveniently left out the part where she might have to add herself to that list of doubters, if that anxious feeling in her chest wouldn’t go away. She tried to give the blonde woman a smile, trying to look reassuring, but Kara was frowning at her and was darting her eyes back and forward as if she was internally debating something.

“What are you doing tonight?”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at the question. “Well… nothing, but-”

“I need to take you somewhere,” Kara said, looking determined now, “there’s something I need to show you.” Lena was very confused at the sudden invitation, but she didn’t question it. This was Kara, after all. “Well… alright.”

Kara gave a satisfied nod. “Good. I’ll let you know where it is, just… don’t stress yourself out today, okay?”

Lena smiled at Kara, while admiring the concern in her honest eyes. “I’ll do my best.”

Kara nodded again, before stepping closer and giving her another hug. “I’ll see you tonight, then…” she stepped back and rubbed Lena’s arm reassuringly, “…I love you.” She gave her one last sad smile before turning around and stepping out of the office. Lena was left staring at the double doors, suddenly feeling her heart hammering away in her chest and feeling incredibly far from the numbness she’d been experiencing not too long ago.

Lena had more fingers on her right hand, than people who had told her they loved her (and actually meant it). Jack, Lionel, Lex… and now Kara.

Lena was honestly still scared. She was still afraid that she might not be able to control herself if she lost someone again. But those thoughts were currently being driven to the background by the warm, almost glowing feeling in her chest that seemed to spread rapidly and that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Kara loved her…

Lena smiled to herself as she finally got it. She’d never understood the girls at her boarding school, when they made a fuss to point out that someone was their _best_ friend. So what, she would think, it didn’t make that much of a difference, right? It wasn’t all that important to classify one of your friends as more important than others, was it? Only now did she realise how wrong she’d been. Only now that she actually had multiple friends, did she realise the massive difference. Because no one but Kara could make her feel like this. Not Winn, not Jess… only Kara. She got it now… she finally understood the importance of someone being your best friend.

Lena took a moment, waiting for her heart rate to drop a few beats, before moving towards the doors and opening them, slowly stepping outside. “Jess…”

Her assistant looked up at her and immediately stood up and sped across her desk. “Yes, Ms. Luthor?”

“You called Kara, didn’t you?”

Jess shifted uncomfortably on her feet. “Yes, I… I did.” Lena shook her head while looking down as she let out a small laugh. Jess gave her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” Jess said “but… I really thought you needed to talk to someone.” Lena looked back up and smiled at her assistant.

“Thank you, Jess, but…” she paused and gave a small smirk, “…try to knock next time, alright?”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena stood hesitantly on the corner of the street while glancing towards the nearby alleys. She’d never been to this part of town before and by the looks of it, she hadn’t been missing out on anything. She took out her phone and checked the address again. Maybe Kara made a mistake? Sent her to the wrong place by accident? She looked around again, noticing the walls that were swamped with graffiti, while all the others looked like they hadn’t gotten a paint job since the start of the century. It definitely didn’t seem like the kind of neighbourhood Kara ‘sunshine’ Danvers would hang around.

“Hi, sorry I’m late.”

Lena turned around to see Kara coming to a stop in front of her and letting out a short breath. “I just got held up,” Kara explained, “Snapper needed me to stay late.” Lena gave her a confused frown. “I thought you’d already finished your article together?” she asked.

“Oh, yeah, we did, but he actually-,” Kara let out a short laugh while adjusting her glasses, “he hired me again.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You got your job back?!” Kara just nodded with child-like enthusiasm while Lena gave her a broad smile. “Kara, that’s- that’s great, I’m so happy for you.” Kara ducked her head slightly.

“Aw, thanks… But enough about me, come over here.” She suddenly grabbed Lena’s hand and dragged her into one of the gloomy alleys. For some reason, Lena could sense that warm, glowing feeling returning to her chest.

“Um… Kara?”

“Yeah?”

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Oh,” Kara said as they came to a stop in front of a filthy looking door, “we’re just going to this bar I know.” Lena gave her a surprised look.

“I didn’t take you for a bar person.”

Kara simply smiled at her. “Well, I guess  I’m just full of surprises” she said jokingly. “Besides, this is sort of where the whole gang gets together. Alex, Winn, James… unless it’s game night or someone’s birthday or something, in which case- Oh gosh!” Kara suddenly looked horrified and moved her hands in front of her mouth. “Lena…” she grabbed the CEO by her sleeves and gave her a very troubled look while Lena was starting to worry, “…I don’t know your birthday!!”

Kara kept giving her that troubled look, while Lena tried to contain her amusement. “You would’ve told me if it was your birthday, wouldn’t you?! You didn’t just turn 25 without letting me give you a present, did you?!”

Lena couldn’t contain her laughter anymore as she couldn’t help but be amused by the things Kara took so seriously. “If you don’t know my birthday, then how do you know how old I am?” Lena said with a smirk.

“Well, I- I may have-” Kara stammered before clearing her throat, “I may have googled you before our first interview.” Lena’s smirk grew wider while raising an eyebrow. “Really?” she teased. “Just to be prepared,” Kara said defensively, “but… yeah… no one on the internet seems to know your birthday.” Lena stepped closer, her grin still in place.

“Well, Ms. Danvers, that is highly confidential information,” she said teasingly. “But since it’s my favourite reporter asking,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “it’s June 17th.” She smiled at her own silliness while Kara gave a small chuckle. “Why, Ms. Luthor,” Kara said, continuing their joking conversation, “are you sure it’s safe to be telling me all this?” Lena’s smile faded slightly as she looked at her best friend. “Yeah…” she said slowly, now turning completely serious, “…I trust you.”

Kara took a deep breath, seemingly looking uneasy for a split second, before becoming all smiles again. “Well, good,” she said, “in that case I’ll make sure to throw you a grand old birthday party!” She turned and knocked on the door, as Lena shifted uneasily on her feet.

“I… I don’t know if that’s-”

Before she could finish her thought, a small compartment on the door slid open, revealing a pair of eyes. “Hey, Carl!” Kara chirped. The man behind the door grumbled something inaudible before opening it. Kara enthusiastically grabbed Lena’s hand again and lead her into the bar. “Oh, wow, it’s really busy tonight” Kara said while glancing around the crammed space. “I’m sorry,” she said, turning to Lena, “it’s usually not this crowded.” She turned back around to lead her further into the establishment, all the while holding tightly onto Lena’s hand, before suddenly waving at someone Lena couldn’t see. “Hang on,” she said as they struggled past a few people and came to a stop by one of the standing tables “you wait here, I’ll get us some drinks.”

“Won’t that take forever?” Lena asked, looking at the sea of people.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Kara said, while smiling radiantly, “I’m dating the bartender, so we should be good.”

“Mike works here?”

“Yep. So don’t worry, I’ll be right back and I’ll show you something really cool!”

With that, Kara turned around and started making her way through the crowd in surprisingly swift fashion. Lena swallowed and looked around, feeling rather out of place in this environment, while a mellow song was playing in the background. She wasn’t one to judge people she didn’t know, but she couldn’t help but notice that the customers that were present didn’t exactly seem to be living the high life.

“Luthor…”

Lena snapped her head to the side to see that Maggie Sawyer was standing beside her, giving her a dimpled smile and a surprised look. “…what are you doing in my neck of the woods?”

Lena quirked an eyebrow at the woman. “I didn’t realise this was a police bar” she responded. Maggie chuckled as she moved in front of her and rested her arms on the table with a bottle of beer in her hand.

“It’s not,” she said, “I just like the vibe.” Lena raised both her eyebrows at the detective. “Really?” she asked in an incredulous voice as she glanced around the space again. “Hey, come on now,” Maggie said, her smile still in place, “I was just starting to like you, and then you go and offend my turf? Not cool.” Lena chuckled, feeling surprised at how easy the woman was to get along with when she wasn’t arresting or choking anyone. “Besides,” Maggie continued, “if it was that bad you wouldn’t be here yourself, now would you?”

“Actually, Kara brought me here,” Lena said while glancing in the direction Kara had gone off to, “she said she needed to show me something.” Lena gave the detective a shrug. “Apparently a run-down bar is something I just _had_ to see.” She smirked at the detective who was shaking her head in mock offence.

“Seriously, you just can’t stop the bashing, can you?” She chuckled briefly before letting out a long breath and giving Lena a scrutinising look, seemingly turning more serious. “I’m sorry about Jack Spheer,” Maggie said, “Alex mentioned you two used to be close.” Lena inhaled through her nose and looked down for a moment, before meeting the detective’s eyes again. “Yes, we… we were.”

“For how long?” Maggie asked carefully.

“Two years.”

“Damn…”

The detective took a sip of her beer and shook her head. “You don’t have to feel sorry for me,” Lena said coolly, “it’s not like you’ve had to deal with any less grief.”

“Hey,” Maggie said as she started to frown, “this is not a competition, alright? You have every right to feel miserable because of your ex dying and just for the record,” she pointed a finger at Lena with the same hand she was holding her beer, “I don’t need you to feel sorry for me either.” Lena nodded as she looked down and smiled weakly. “Besides,” Maggie said jokingly, “if it _was_ a competition I would totally win.” Lena chuckled as she lifted her head and gave the detective an amused look.

“Really?”

Maggie spread her arms, as if trying to convey that it was obvious. “Yeah. I mean, come on, I got haunted for crying out loud.” Lena’s smile faded, as she looked down again. “Me too” she said softly. Maggie almost choked on her beer, coughing loudly before giving the youngest Luthor an incredulous look. “Jack Spheer came back?! I mean… he turned into a ghost?!” Lena nodded her head, not sure why she was suddenly being so open about things. Maybe Kara’s attitude was rubbing off on her…

“Shit, Luthor,” Maggie started weakly, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t… is he still here?” Lena shook her head while meeting the detective’s eyes again. “No… he passed on pretty quickly.” Maggie took a long sip of her beer, apparently trying to process everything. “Damn… well, listen,” she gave Lena a solemn look, “I meant what I told you before, alright? Anything you need, you just need to ask.” Lena smiled gratefully. “Thank you” she said. They sat in silence for a moment, before Maggie apparently couldn’t help speaking up again. “So… how often does this happen to you? The seeing ghosts thing?” Lena took a deep breath, wondering where she could possibly begin to explain the madness of the past six months, before her thoughts were interrupted by Kara manoeuvring her way back to the table with two drinks in her hands. “Hey, so I got you this new drink that ap-”

The newly re-hired reporter froze mid-sentence and eyed Maggie suspiciously. Lena didn’t think she’d ever seen Kara give anyone such a calculating look. Well, except Jack maybe, when she’d crashed their dinner. “What are you doing here?” Kara asked in an uncharacteristically cold tone. “What are you talking about?” Maggie scoffed, “The only reason you even know this place, is because I told Alex about it.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Kara said as she put the drinks on the table, moving to stand beside Lena and crossing her arms. “Why are you talking to Lena? Did you apologise for arresting her yet?” Maggie laughed in disbelief and shook her head. “I’m not gonna apologise for doing my job, Kara. And besides,” she patted Lena on her arm, earning herself a scorching look of disapproval from Kara, “we’ve already moved past that. Right, Luthor?”

“Luthor…?! _Lena_ Luthor?!”

The three women looked to the side, where a man was standing close by while giving Lena an incredulous look. Lena barely had the time to take in the man’s appearance. She barely had the time to take in his blue skin and the small openings on his neck that looked a lot like gills. She barely had time to process the fact that she was standing face to face with an alien, before she realised the mood in the bar had shifted. People around the blue-skinned creature turned around and looked at her, as very quickly soft whispers of ‘Lena Luthor’ filled the entire place. Somebody turned off the music and the bar was starting to fill with an eerie silence as every single person turned to face the youngest Luthor. Lena could feel panic rising in her chest, because she was starting to notice something about the clientele of the place. Most of them looked normal on the outset, but Lena spotted more odd skin colours. She saw something that resembled a claw sticking out of a few sleeves. She spotted a few men with unnaturally long and pointed ears. There was a girl that was blinking without moving her eyelids, the way some reptiles would. Lena was frozen in place, fear surging through her veins, because she realised she was standing in a bar full of aliens.

She realised she had severely underestimated how naïve Kara truly was. Hadn’t the woman considered the ramifications of bringing a Luthor into a place like this? Did she truly think she could just waltz in here without getting lynched for her family’s crimes towards the alien population? Oh god. She was about to get lynched by an angry mob, wasn’t she? Lena looked around the crowded space, everyone still staring at her, as she realised there was no way out. There was no way to escape. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched the blue-skinned alien step closer and grab her hand. “I owe you everything, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena stared at the blue hand holding her own, as it took her a moment to let the words sink in. “Wh- what?”

“The Medusa virus,” the alien said, looking at her intently, “I would have died. My wife would have died.” Lena looked up to actually see a look of pure gratitude on the alien’s face. “You saved us… you saved all of us.” There was an approving murmur rising from the crowd surrounding them, as the alien furiously shook her hand. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” 

Lena opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with a response, but before she could say anything, the alien was pushed to the side by the girl who had been blinking in that reptile-like fashion. The alien girl also grabbed her hand and gave her a revering look. “Yes, thank you” she said, sounding slightly breathless, “I came to earth with my little brothers. They would be dead. They would all be dead now…” Lena didn’t exactly know what to say, as she looked at the alien girl who was shaking her hand. “Don’t- don’t mention it” she forced out weakly. The girl in front of her gave a weak laugh, but soon enough she was suddenly replaced by a hulking figure that looked mostly human, apart from his oddly shaped skull. He thanked her too. And so did the next alien. And the next. Lena kept shaking the hands and claws of countless creatures, as the entire bar seemed to have decided they all needed to personally thank the youngest Luthor.

Lena honestly didn’t know what to do with all this gratitude. It had already been slightly overwhelming when the spirits she’d helped had thanked her. And that had been one at the time. Now, there seemed to be no end in sight as alien after alien kept stepping up and shaking her hand. Some of them just muttered a timid ‘thank you’, while others would go into great detail as to why they came to earth, how many family members they had here or how incredibly grateful they were for what Lena had done. Lena was feeling very uncomfortable, realising she was getting more praise and admiration she’d ever gotten in her entire life. Amidst the blur of all the aliens giving thanks and praising her courage, she was vaguely aware of some images she caught sight of while glancing around the bar. Like Kara standing right behind her, while looking at her with a wide smile. Like Mike standing behind the bar and flashing her a grin and a thumbs-up. It was just too much…

Lena started backing away from it all, moving towards the exit. She still shook many hands and felt a lot of people patting her on the back, as she slowly made her way through the thick crowd. After making it all the way to the ugly door, she gave Carl one last handshake, now realising that his face consisted entirely of scales, before finally stepping outside and inhaling sharply while the door slammed shut behind her. She took a few steps away from the entrance and allowed the fresh air to fill her lungs, bending forward while resting her hands on her knees and trying to calm herself down. She felt like she was about to have a panic attack and honestly, she didn’t feel that ashamed about it. She had gone from feeling slightly out of place at an unfamiliar bar, to fearing for her life, to being overwhelmed by unprecedented gratitude in a matter of seconds. So, yeah, she had every right to feel shaken up. She was vaguely aware of the sound of the heavy door opening with a loud thud behind her.

“Lena! Are you alright?!”

Lena stood upright and turned around, trying to control her breathing while looking at an obviously very concerned Kara. “Jesus, Kara,” she muttered weakly, “a heads-up would have been nice.”

“I’m- I’m sorry,” Kara stammered, “I was gonna tell you after getting the drinks…”

Lena took another deep breath as she steadied herself. “So… this is what you wanted to show me? An alien bar?”

“Well, yeah,” Kara said softly as she stepped closer, “I just… thought you should know that not everyone is against you.” The reporter gave her a tentative smile, as Lena could feel herself calming down while looking into Kara’s eyes. “There’s people that know, Lena,” Kara said decisively, “there’s people that know exactly what kind of person you are, and it’s not just me anymore.” Lena’s breathing was steadily calming down as she started to frown.

“But…” Lena started weakly, “no one wrote about it. There wasn’t a single story in the news, how… how did they all know?” Kara shifted on her feet while looking slightly embarrassed. “Well- I- I, um…” Kara nervously stammered, “I might have asked Supergirl to stop by.” The reporter hung her head down and nervously adjusted her glasses. Lena let out a strangled laugh. “You asked Supergirl to stop by a bar?” she asked incredulously.

“Of course!”

Kara gave her a determined look as she stepped closer again. “It just wasn’t fair! Everyone was safe and it was all thanks to you, but then they wanted to keep everything quiet and that just wouldn’t do! So yeah, I might have… told Supergirl to set the record straight and… I might have told a few people as well. I mean, they needed to know. People need to know that you’re a good person, Lena!”

Lena didn’t know what to say. She knew that Kara had her back, but this… this just went above and beyond. She felt that warm, glowing feeling return to her chest. Her heart was hammering away again, but this time she was pretty sure it wasn’t due to a panic attack. Was your heart supposed to beat faster out of gratitude? Lena wasn’t sure, but she didn’t mind the feeling, for some reason. Even if it wasn’t logical.

“Kara…” Lena said slowly, as she remembered some of the images in the bar.

“Yes?”

“Is Mike an alien?”

Kara’s eyes went wide as she darted them from side to side. “Wha- how… I mean-” she swallowed harshly and let out a long breath. She searched Lena’s eyes for a moment, before speaking up again. “Yes… he is. His real name is Mon-el.” Lena let out an incredulous laugh while shaking her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Kara said, looking slightly panicked, “it’s- it’s just… it’s not really my secret to tell.”

Lena shot her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Kara. I’m sorry if I forced it out of you.” She briefly let her eyes go over Kara’s concerned expression. “Do you think he’ll be mad?” she asked.

Kara waved her hand dismissively. “Pfft, mad? No, no, he’s pretty relaxed about who he tells about it. In fact, I keep telling him he should be more careful sometimes, but,” she let out a laugh, “he doesn’t always listen to my advice.”

“Well… his loss.”

Kara chuckled nervously, readjusting her glasses again in that adorable manner.

“I, um,” Lena started, “I think I need to go home.”

“What?! No, come on, you just got here.”

“I’m sorry, Kara,” Lena took a shaky breath, “but I really don’t feel like going back in there, it’s just… it’s just too much.” Kara pouted for a second, before sighing in defeat. “Alright, but,” she started hesitantly, “just so you know; you deserve all of it.” Kara gave her an intense look and Lena was momentarily lost in the sea of blue that were her eyes. “You deserve all the admiration and respect in the world, okay? Not to steal your lines or anything but,” she shrugged slightly as she gave her a serious look, “you’re my hero too.”

The warm, glowing feeling in Lena’s chest suddenly intensified, seemingly spreading all the way to her extremities. She laughed nervously as she looked at Kara who, unlike herself, had said the words without a hint of irony. Her heart seemed to want to beat right out of her chest, and Lena felt the curious urge to step closer to the reporter. Which was very strange, because they were already standing face to face. “Th- thank you,” Lena stammered nervously. Kara smiled radiantly before enveloping her in a tight hug. Lena held onto her best friend, feeling slightly worried at how lightheaded she was feeling. Her heart was beating unreasonably fast and it contradicted with how warm and safe she felt in Kara’s arms. It made no sense…

“I’ll bring you lunch tomorrow, okay?” Kara said, still holding onto Lena.

“A- Alright…”

Kara stepped back and gave Lena a fond look while rubbing her arm. After a moment, she let go and started turning around. “Bye, Lena.”

“Bye…” Lena managed to force out.

“Love you.”

Lena just looked on as Kara knocked on the brown door and stepped back inside. She was still aware of  that warm feeling that glowed through her entire body. She hoped she wasn’t about to have a stroke. Lena eventually got her legs to move and started heading towards the bus stop. All the way to her penthouse, she spent the time thinking about the absurdity of someone considering her a hero. It’s not that she thought the work she’d done with L-Corp was unimportant, it was just that the most she’d ever hoped for was that people would stop hating her for her last name. The blind admiration that she’d received from an entire community that had every right to despise her, was something she still struggled to wrap her head around.

Lena eventually arrived at her destination, stepping into her penthouse and closing the door behind her. The warm feeling that had invaded her body since Kara had told her that Lena was her hero, still hadn’t faded. With anyone else, she would have thought it was a joke. Or a ploy to get something from her. But as Lena dropped her bag beside he couch and pulled some paperwork out of it, she knew that she didn’t even need to consider those possibilities. She knew, because she’d known for quite some time know, that she would never have to doubt Kara. She smiled to herself as she tried to focus on the business proposal in front of her, despite the warm feeling in her chest being very distracting.

When this unannounced visitor by the name of Rhea had dropped by her office and had given her the proposal she was currently staring at, she’d been quite wary of the woman. She couldn’t help but notice the fact that they’d been alone at a very late hour, so she’d made a point of shaking the woman’s hand. Thankfully, her fingers were able to grasp the older woman’s hand without going through it, allaying Lena’s fears that she was being toyed with by a ghost again. So now she was left reading through the outline of a project that almost seemed too good to be true. But as Kara had just shown her earlier; some things were possible, despite how fantastical they might seem.

“Lena…”

Lena looked up from her reading and immediately bolted up from the couch. The papers that were in her hand went scattering through the air, as Lena quickly rounded her table and stepped closer to the door of her living room. She looked with wide eyes at the figure standing in front of her, feeling a huge weight lifting from her shoulders.

“Sam!!”

Samantha Carr was standing just beyond the threshold of the room, looking unsurely in Lena’s direction with her hands awkwardly tucked behind her back. “You’re here… you’re…” Lena stammered, not sure what she should say. Right, she needed to apologise again. She needed to make the girl understand she wouldn’t mess up again and that they would definitely be able to-

“I’m sorry” Sam suddenly said.

Lena blinked a few times, not sure if she’d heard Sam right. “What?” Lena asked weakly. “I’m sorry,” Sam repeated, “for yelling at you and everything.” The girl hung her head down and looked at her feet, still nervously holding her hands behind her back. “No, Sam, you were right,” Lena responded urgently, “I shouldn’t have said those things to your father, I should have known better. I’m sorry, I just… I was so mad and…” Lena nervously cleared her throat “…I shouldn’t have snapped, I should have tried harder to help him…” Sam just chuckled as she looked back up at Lena.

“I think you sort of already did” she said. Lena gave her a confused look.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… my dad hired Ponytail again” Sam said. “I suppose you heard about that?” Lena just nodded, still feeling incredibly grateful that the girl was talking to her again. “He actually said something nice to her,” Sam continued, “he told her she did a good job.” The girl laughed again and shook her head. “I can’t remember the last time he said that to someone.” She looked intently at Lena for a moment before speaking again. “You were right,” Sam said, “Kara _does_ care about the truth as much as my dad.” She gave the CEO a weak smile. “I think that makes him happy… the fact that there’s still good reporters around… and that one of them actually works for him.” She smirked at Lena. “So, yeah. You were right. Ponytail really is something else.” Lena laughed briefly as she regarded the young girl for a moment.

“Yeah, she’s… a good friend” Lena said fondly. For the first time since the girl had left, Lena got to hear Sam snort again. “I think…” Sam started while giving Lena a grin, “the appropriate term…” she hesitated, as Lena gave her a confused frown. “Nah…” Sam shook her head, still grinning, “you’ll figure it out.” Lena was about to ask what the girl was talking about, but before she could, Sam started speaking again.

“I was actually already coming over here earlier, but…” Sam paused, bringing her arms around from behind her back and lifting her right hand, “…I had to pick something up first.” Lena laughed wholeheartedly at the sight of Sam proudly holding up her tennis ball. She wasn’t sure why the image was so reassuring, but somehow it was. Lena looked on with glee as the girl silently bounced the ball of the floor one time. “Oh,” Sam suddenly exclaimed, “if you see your dad again, tell him I said thanks.” Lena raised her eyebrows in confusion. “For what?”

“For telling me where you live, when he tried to convince me to go back and see you.”

Lena felt her heart swell up at the thought of Lionel actually going after the girl, despite the fact she never asked him to. “And for showing me the whole… teleporting thing” Sam continued. “I got to see Wrestlemania 33 in person and I didn’t even have to walk to Orlando for it” Sam stated proudly. “Just so you know; front row seats are awesome!” Lena let out a chuckle, realising how much she had actually missed the girl’s upbeat presence.

“I will keep that in mind” she smirked. The young girl looked down for a second while shifting on her feet. “So…” Sam started, looking back up at Lena, “I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for telling my dad some things he maybe hadn’t noticed about Kara.” She smiled tentatively as Lena just gave her a fond look. “I really think he’ll be okay now” Sam said. She shifted on her feet again and fidgeted with her ball before looking at Lena again. “And thanks for… being my friend.” The girl let out a small chuckle. “A ghost’s life gets kinda lonely sometimes.” Lena gave the girl a broad smile.

“Don’t mention it.”

Lena’s smile quickly faded, however. Because she realised that dimmed beams of light were starting to seep through the girl’s skin. Lena felt like there was too much she still had to say, so much she didn’t know, but the light was starting to shine brighter and she couldn’t figure out the words right now. As the light started moving towards the girl’s stomach, Sam took a look at her tennis ball, which was also starting to glow. “Hey!” Sam exclaimed, her voice echoing distantly. “I get to keep my ball! Sweet!”

Lena laughed breathlessly at what she realised were the last words she would hear from the girl, as the light now moved over her face, removing it from sight. Lena furiously blinked back her tears, because she didn’t want to miss any of this due to blurry vision. The light merged together, leaving the shape of the girl and her ball in the form of a bright glow. Lena could feel her heart constrict as the light pulled apart, the image of Sam’s figure slowly morphing into those shining orbs. The lights detached themselves and slowly drifted away from each other, while Lena mentally took note of which one was the girl’s ball. The orbs came to a stop and stayed still before, very slowly, they started to fade. The more the lights dimmed, the more Lena could feel her eyes burning and her throat closing up, as the orbs slowly but steadily lost the intensity of their glow. Lena forced herself to keep watching until the very end, as finally… the last spec of light disappeared and left the room with only one person standing in it. Lena let out a long and shaky breath as she stumbled backwards and dropped down on her couch. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to control her emotions.

 

Samantha Carr had just passed on.

And although it was selfish, although she should feel happy that the girl was finally at peace. Although Lena had wanted nothing more than for her hauntings to end… She felt like she had lost someone all over again. And she couldn’t help but realise that, in the case of this particular ghost, she was truly going to miss her.

As she opened her eyes and remembered what the girl had said about Kara, she felt that glowing feeling returning to her chest at the thought of Kara actually helping Sam as well, however unintentional it was. While thinking of the reporter and Sam’s words, she also suddenly felt logic tugging at her consciousness. But for the first time in her life, she ignored it. She ignored it this particular time, because something like that wasn’t possible…

…right?

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_Lillian Luthor carefully studied the numerous test tubes that were set up on the table in front of her. She picked one of them up, swirling the contents carefully, before displaying an unsettling smile. “Well,” she said, as she put the tube back into its place, “it sure took you long enough.” She turned to the side, where a hooded figure was still staring at the contents of the small vial on the table._

_“It would be a lot easier if you didn’t constantly move around after almost getting caught by Supergirl,” the figure said, a sly grin barely visible. Cyborg Superman growled angrily as he stepped closer to the pair near the table, but Lillian motioned him to stop. “Besides,” the figure continued, as Lillian turned her head back, “I like to take my precautions. Not everyone enjoys being a fugitive.” The hooded figure cocked their head back towards the Cyborg, who looked like he wanted nothing more than to open fire with his robotic eye. “So now that I’ve provided the samples…” the figure spoke, “…dare I ask if  you two have made any kind of progress?”_

_Lillian Luthor let out a cold laugh as she stepped away from the hooded figure and closer to a chair, where a dark-skinned woman was chained to it loosely while fiddling with several mechanical components in front of her. The woman had bags under her eyes and if you looked closely, you could see her ribs sticking out beneath her collarbones. She was clearly underfed and she flinched visibly when Lillian stepped closer, her eyes going wide. “You tell me…” Lillian said to the hooded figure in a sadistic tone._

_She regarded the chained woman closely, who had paused her movements and was seemingly frozen in place at the sight of Lillian standing this close. Her facial features seemed to be twitching out of pure fear. “Our friendly assistant here has been having some trouble with her work” Lillian started as she bent down and grabbed something from under the table. The woman started shaking. “But I think,” Lillian said as she stood upright again, “that we’ve come to an understanding, haven’t we?” Lillian Luthor gave the woman a menacing glare, while the metallic device in her hand started to emit a blue light at the end of it. The woman sat straight up, pressing herself to the back of the chair with wide eyes, trying to prevent herself from shaking even more violently._

_“Ye- Ye- Yes- I- I’m working as f- fast as I can it- it’s just c- complicated and-”_

_“See?” Lillian said in a smug voice as she stepped away from the woman, who visibly sighed with relief. “The device will be ready eventually. And when it is… we will finally take care of the alien menace, once and for all.” She stood next to the hooded figure again as she let her eyes go over the torturing device that had broken the chained woman._

_“And what about Supergirl?” the figure asked calmly. “You didn’t seem to have a way to stop her the last time you tried another ill-advised plan.”_

_Lillian glared at the figure beside her, who didn’t seem intimidated in the slightest. It irritated her gravely, but the figure’s services were much needed. “Don’t worry about Supergirl…” Lillian said as she stepped away from the table and towards a corner of the room. She let her hand go over a cylindrically shaped object with a semi spherical top, that was tall enough to reach her waist. It was of a dark grey steel, and Lillian looked at it as if it was the most precious thing in the world._

_“…I will finish her.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you go back and re-read chapter 1 after this one, you will find an easter egg. Can you tell me what it is?
> 
> Also, quick poll: I could split the next chapter in half, which means two shorter chapters, but faster updates. Yay or Nay?
> 
> EDIT: In retrospect, that easter egg is indeed quite hard to find so here's a hint: Look for it during the scene in Lionel's office.  
> RE-EDIT: Hint no.2: The thing in this chapter that will help you find it, is in the conversation Lena and Kara have before entering the bar.


	10. King Lar Gand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During 2x21
> 
> First of the two shorter chapters, but they're still about 5k each, so it should be fine.

_May 11 th 2017_

Lena sat on the edge of the large bed in her room. Well, technically it might be a room, but let’s face it; it was effectively a cell. The armed guards outside of the door certainly weren’t there for her protection. She glanced down towards her red dress which admittedly, was very flattering (despite the crown being slightly over the top). The state of your clothing, however, became a very distant afterthought when you were about to be forced to get married to your best friend’s boyfriend. Lena cursed herself for not asking Kara about Rhea. She should have known better than to trust someone blindly, but her offer had just been too good to turn down, even if she _had_ initially lied to her.

Being one of the smartest people of your generation was hard sometimes. Few people could keep up with you, let alone guide you in the right direction or mentor you. Which is probably why she’d been so eager to accept the woman’s tutelage. Any respect she might have garnered for the alien queen had gone straight out the window, however, when she’d realised that the ‘horrible girl’ the woman had described to her, was none other than Kara Danvers. After that, she’d felt a constant urge to strangle the woman.

Lena suddenly noticed that one of the guards had entered her room. She must have been so deep in thought that she didn’t even hear him come in. She shuddered at the thought that it was time already. I mean, it’s not like this marriage would have any kind of validity under human law. Then again, human laws might no longer account for much, if Rhea were to succeed in her nefarious intents. Lena sighed as she planted her feet and stood up from the bed, but the guard didn’t move from his spot. Lena noticed that his uniform was different from the other guards, his face not actually being covered, and that he was not very young anymore. He was still remaining silent, just looking at her with a curious expression, and Lena suddenly had a thought. She really shouldn’t, though…

_But the situation was perfect._

The situation was very serious…

_But this was a unique opportunity._

She was being held hostage on an alien spaceship…

_Exactly!_

…

What the hell.

“Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”

The guard’s eyes widened and Lena felt about as smug as she felt silly. Totally worth it, though.

“You…” the guard looked behind him and back again, blinking a few times, “…you can see me?” Lena’s smile instantly faded. This could not be seriously happening right now. “Yes…” she responded warily, while eyeing the man with suspicion. “Thank the gods!” the guard exclaimed. Lena sighed and held her forehead with her hand. So not only did she see the ghosts of people she had no connection to, now she also saw the ghosts of alien invaders. Brilliant.

“Look,” Lena started, “I’m sure being seen is a big deal to you, but even if I wanted to, I’m not in any state to help some dead alien guard who was part of a plan to-”

“Guard?!”

The man straightened himself and gave her a look of indignation. “I am no guard, Ms. Luthor. I am King Lar Gand, ruler of Daxam. Or at least, I was as much when Daxam was still inhabitable… and I was still alive.” The alien king’s look turned pained, while Lena frowned in confusion. “You were… the king of Daxam?” she asked. The man nodded as Lena kept looking at him. “Which makes Mon-el…”

“My son” the king finished.

Lena sighed very deeply and brought her hand up to rub her temple, sensing a headache was starting to set in. So not only was she an involuntary spouse, now she was supposed to help the father of the involuntary groom with whatever business he had left here. Some taste in prince charming’s Kara had, she thought bitterly. Kara, she remembered, who was probably somewhere in the city down below. She would be fine, right? She was friends with Supergirl, after all. Not that the alien hero was always infallible, mind you, just ask Jack Spheer’s family. She forced her mind away from all that, since the thought of Supergirl allowing something to happen to Kara was already making her brain summon up images of Kryptonite bullets.

Lena lowered her hand as she forced her attention back to the situation at hand. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re still here, Mr… um, Mr. Gand? Mr. Lar Gand?” she questioned unsurely. The alien king squinted his eyes at her. “I am usually referred to as ‘Your Highness’.” Lena dropped her arms to her side and raised a challenging eyebrow at him. The man just lifted his chin and gave her a stubborn look. Unbelievable.

“Fine,” Lena scoffed, “ _Your Highness_ , even if I was in any state to help you, which I’m obviously not, why would I want to help the orchestrator of an invasion on my planet?” The man raised his eyebrows at her. “You believe I ordered the invasion?” he asked surprised. Lena was momentarily stunned. “You… you didn’t?” she asked.

The king shook his head at her. “My wife assassinated me several weeks prior” he uttered sadly. Lena raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Rhea killed you?”

The king sighed and nodded, starting to pace back and forward in front of her. “She always had a strong will,” he started slowly, “it’s one of the reasons I chose her to be my queen. She was always very protective of young Mon-el, something which made me very proud at the time. It was as if she wanted to shield him from everything that could possibly do him harm. It was inconvenient at times, but I always thought it to be endearing, how she would go out of her way to protect our little boy.” The king sighed deeply as he stopped pacing and looked at Lena. “I believe that is how she still sees him; as a helpless child. Perhaps it is for this reason that she couldn’t leave him behind. Perhaps that is why she would rather conquer an entire planet rather than return home without him. Why she thought she needed to kill me…”

Lena was painfully aware that the man was currently trying to justify the actions of someone who was clearly a raging megalomaniac with a god-complex, but she also couldn’t help but realise that up until recently, she would have defended her mother in a similar manner. That despite all the evidence that Lillian Luthor couldn’t care less about her, she still found it hard to believe that the woman would shoot her in cold blood. Even if Lionel’s vision pointed towards the contrary…

“I just can’t stand to see them at odds like this,” the king continued, “I just don’t want them to hurt each other.” The king shifted slightly on his feet. “And obviously, I don’t want my son to be forced into a marriage” he said carefully, while looking the young CEO up and down. Lena let out a humourless laugh. “Well that makes two of us…”

Their conversation was cut short as the door of the room suddenly opened, the alien general marching in, followed by two guards. “It is time” he stated bluntly. He stepped aside and motioned towards the door, inviting Lena to step outside. Lena sighed as she took a look at the king’s ghost who was pacing nervously, seemingly not knowing what to do. Lena realised that, once again, that made two of them. She gave the king a small shrug, not knowing any other way out at this point, before stepping towards the door and the corridor outside of it.

As she slowly marched towards an unfortunate fate, her mind inevitably drifted to the city below her. How Jess was supposed to be taking a few days off before all this started. How Maggie, being a cop, would probably be caught smack in the middle of it all. How Winn would be absolutely useless in a fight. How a certain fearless reporter would probably be way too reckless. Lena closed her eyes, intensely hoping that Kara would be alright…

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena owed Cat Grant. She owed her big time.

She had never met the woman, but if she saw her right now she would probably hug her senseless. Yes, it was an alien marriage and it probably didn’t count, and if aliens conquered the planet her marital status was probably the last thing she should be worried about, plus Kara would totally understand that it wasn’t her choice, but still! Lena would have already felt uneasy during the ceremony, but King Lar Gand nervously pacing back and forward behind Rhea had somehow made her even more uncomfortable.

The king was now following the fortunately still unmarried duo through the narrow corridor as they were being escorted back to their chambers. Lena stopped and turned around at the sound of Mon-el’s voice: “As your prince, I order you to lay down your weapons and let us go.” The guard seemed about as impressed as Lena was with the improvised action and raised his gun at him. “Yeah,” Mon-el drawled, “I didn’t think that was gonna work either.”

Suddenly he swung a fist at the guard, sending the gun flying before getting tackled into the wall. Lena was surprised, to say the least, but she maintained her poise and her dignity as she did the most logical thing and stepped towards the gun. She stayed calm as she passed the two struggling aliens while the king was shouting unheard encouragements at his son. Lena picked up the gun, took a deep breath, and fired at the guard. He immediately fell down, leaving just Mon-el standing with a dumbstruck expression on his face.

“Yes!” the king exclaimed, before apparently remembering himself and regaining his regal composure. “Follow me, Ms. Luthor,” he said, clearing his throat as he moved past her, “there’s an escape pod this way that you two can use.” Lena was vaguely aware that Mon-el thanked her, but she was more focused on their possibility to escape, so she turned without saying a word and followed the king. She heard Mon-el mumble something as he followed closely behind.

“Hey, um, wait up” Mon-el said as he caught up with Lena and walked beside her. They turned a corner, Lena steadily following the deceased king through the crammed corridors of the alien aircraft. “Are you… are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” Mon-el asked unsurely. Lena let out a breath through her nose. She hated these situations. It would be a lot easier if the alien beside her knew what was going on, but telling Kara’s boyfriend her secret was just about the last thing she intended to do up here. Besides marrying him, of course.

“How is it _you_ don’t know your way through a Daxam spaceship?” Lena responded, feeling annoyed and still closely following the ghost in front of her. “Well… they’re not all the same,” Mon-el grumbled, “it’s not like I used them all that often, either. The few times that we actually-”

“Stop!”

Lena inhaled sharply and came to a sudden stop, watching the king of Daxam spurt back around the corner. “There are guards coming! Hide!”

“Lena, what is- whoa!”

Lena forcefully tugged Mon-el into a nearby room by his sleeve, before hesitating with her hand over the panel of the door.

“It’s this one, Ms. Luthor!”

Lena pressed the button the king was indicating and with a swift swooshing sound, the door closed. She stood as still as she could while listening to the scurrying footsteps, the armed guards audibly racing passed the door they were hiding behind. Once they faded away, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Wow,” Mon-el sighed, “that was close. How did you know they were coming?”

“Good instincts” Lena replied dryly.

“Ha… well, good thing the data room was here.”

Lena froze with her hand over the panel and turned around to look at the Daxamite. “Data room?” she asked breathlessly. Mon-el looked confused. “Um… yes. This is where we store all the information about on-board technology. And you thought I didn’t know anything about Daxam spaceships!” Lena ignored his satisfied grin, stepping past him and looking at the small room which consisted mostly of a single wall lined with lights and screens and other unfamiliar technology. Despite not recognising the specific parts, she noticed the setup was similar to a server room. “You’re telling me that all the technical information about this ship is right here?”

“Yes, is that… important?”

“Of course it is,” Lena exclaimed while turning around to face him. “If we know how Daxam technology works we can stop them! We can prevent this invasion from actually happening!” Mon-el looked unsurely at the room. “I- I don’t know… shouldn’t we be getting out of here? I mean-”

“Mon-el!”

Lena gave him a determined look as she stepped closer. “You want to be a hero, don’t you? Kara told me you’ve been training with Supergirl so you can become one. Well, here’s your chance! If I can get this information to L-Corp and study it, we could find a way to defend earth and all its people. Isn’t that what a hero would want to do?” Mon-el just looked at her for a moment with a frown in place. Then he nodded. “Yes, you’re… you’re right. Hang on…”

He moved to the wall with all the strange technology, and started hovering his hand over the buttons, seemingly searching for something. As Lena moved to stand beside him, he seemed to find what he was looking for. “There it is…”

He pressed one of the many buttons, causing an opening to appear in the wall and a small device to slowly slide out of it. The metallic device was shaped like one of those sticks they used during relay races. The exterior, Lena noted however, looked more like an unfinished part of C-3PO. “What is that?” she asked. “Oh, we use this to collect data on” Mon-el responded. “It’s kind of like one of your flash drives.”

Lena raised her eyebrows as she watched Mon-el take the device out of the wall and shuffle sideways, seemingly starting to look for something again. “Ah, here we go!” He plugged the device into what appeared to be some sort of connection, causing a part of the wall to open up and reveal a screen and a keyboard. Lena _assumed_ it was the Daxamite variation of a keyboard anyway, since it looked somewhat similar and there were a lot of curious signs on it. “Alright, let’s see…”

Mon-el started slowly typing away on the keyboard, but didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Every few letters (symbols? numbers? whatever) that he typed the screen would light up red and make an unpleasant sound. Apparently computer errors sounded about the same all over the galaxy. Fascinating…

“Um, Ms. Luthor…” Lena glanced sideways towards the king, who was looking concerned “… you might want to stop him before the system alerts Rhea of a possible breach.”

Lena inhaled sharply, feeling her fear bubble up, but she kept her calm exterior in place and nudged Mon-el out of the way. “Here, let me try.”

“Are… are you sure? I mean, that’s in Daxa-

“Press this one, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena dutifully ignored Mon-el’s sputtering and followed the instructions of the king. She pressed every button he indicated, very slowly one after the other, until after the last one the system on the wall made a much more pleasant noise and the screen displayed some text she couldn’t read.

“Wha- you-”

Lena turned around to see Mon-el muttering and gaping at the screen. “It copied the data…” he said weakly. “You sound surprised” Lena responded, in a tone that was maybe a little too smug for someone who had just been taken by the hand and instructed on exactly what to do by someone who knew what they were doing. Mon-el frowned at her. “Are you sure you’re not an alien?”

Lena snorted loudly. “What?” she asked amused.

“Well, it’s just… I’m pretty sure most humans aren’t supposed to be this smart” Mon-el said unsurely. Lena just grinned at him.

“Well, I’m not most humans…” she removed the Daxamite version of a flash drive from its place in the wall and tucked it away in her sleeve, “…I’m Lena Luthor.”

She moved back towards the door and pressed the button to open it. The king stepped outside and glanced around the corner of the corridor before motioning that it was clear. “Come on, let’s go” Lena beckoned towards Mon-el. They once again started moving through the corridors of the alien spacecraft, Lena making sure she stayed closely behind the Daxamite king. As they rounded the corner into a long, straight section of the seemingly endless labyrinth, they suddenly noticed the door at the end of it was closing.

“Oh, crap…” Mon-el jogged up to the door, but was too late to stop it from closing. He turned sideways and looked at a contraption on the wall that was sealed off by a glass pane. “It’s locked.”

“This is bad” the king murmured, coming to stand next to his son. “We would need some sort of tool to access the rear side of the lock in order to bypass the system. We could short-circuit it that way, but-”

“Break that.”

Mon-el and his father both gave her a curious look. “What, this?” the younger Daxamite questioned.

“Yeah.”

Mon-el proceeded to break the glass with his elbow, while Lena put the gun on the floor and grabbed the unnecessary decoration on her head, feeling highly vindicated that Rhea might have accidentally given them a way out. She took the crown, and carefully wedged it into the side of the contraption, trying to activate the lock like the king had suggested should be possible. There was a soft whirring sound as the lock lighted up and started spinning.

“Remarkable! Excellent thinking, Ms. Luthor!”

Lena turned and shot a grin at the king, while Mon-el was giving her a curious look. “I can see why Kara loves you.”

Lena frowned at the remark, ignoring the sudden fluttering in her chest. “Um… thanks?” she said unsurely. She cleared her throat and focused on the lock again, carefully prying a wire loose and making it connect with the main section of the contraption. The door suddenly opened but they didn’t have time to celebrate, because as they stepped up to it, they saw three guards staring them in the face. Lena’s eyes flickered to the ground where she had left the gun laying, but before she could make a move the guards suddenly all dropped to the floor.

With their bodies out of sight, the doorway suddenly revealed Supergirl who had apparently knocked them all out with a single blow. The alien superhero looked up, and seemed to be equally shocked and happy to have found them. Lena smiled, knowing they should be alright know. She was going to get off this goddamn ship, Kara was getting her boyfriend back and everything should be alright. She ignored the pleasantries Mon-el and Supergirl were exchanging in the middle of a hostile alien invasion (I mean, _honestly_ ) and stepped right passed them, only for her heart to momentarily stop in utter shock.

She moved closer, barely believing her eyes, as she stepped up to Lillian Luthor who was being accompanied by the goon that had thrashed L-Corps lobby. “You came,” Lena said breathlessly, throwing a glance back at Supergirl, “with her…”

“Yes… I did.”

Her mother looked self-conscious for a moment, before grabbing Lena’s arm and guiding her towards the end of the hallway. Lena was smiling, even though she was still technically in a dangerous position. She didn’t even look back at Mon-el, his father or Supergirl, because what she’d thought to be impossible had finally become reality. Her mother might still be a criminal, but she cared about her. Lillian Luthor actually cared about her! Lena kept smiling as she stepped next to her mother onto a pad and they seemingly started beaming away. Lillian had worked together with Supergirl to come up here. Her mother was willing to put aside what she believed in to save her. Just like Luke’s father did in Star Wars! Except Lillian didn’t have to die and she’d actually be a mother to her now. Obviously it wasn’t her who would shoot her! Lionel had been wrong, everything would be-

Lena’s thoughts came to a sudden stop as the beam transported them to a cold place. She took in her surroundings for a moment, before noticing something very disturbing. There were only three of them: Lillian, herself and the Cyborg. No Mon-el, and no Supergirl…

“What did you do, mother?”

Lillian gave her a cold look before responding. “Humans only, dear.”

Lena closed her eyes, as once again her hopes and dreams came crashing down. It was just an excuse… She just wanted a way to get rid of Supergirl. Lena felt her sadness turn into anger as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. She should have known better. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. Lena opened her eyes and looked furiously at her mother, who was now completely ignoring her and apparently focused on the only thing she still cared about: killing Supergirl. Never again, Lena promised herself…

 

Never again would she let the woman give her false hope…

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The ride back to the city was an unpleasant experience.

Lena wasn’t sure where the beam from the ship had dropped them, but judging by the amount of time it took to get back to the civilized world, she guessed it was _very_ far away. Lena wasn’t a fan of flying, but at least the one time that she’d been conscious when Supergirl had to fly her away from danger, the superhero had clear control over her movements in the air. Mon-el was a different story…

He couldn’t actually fly, which meant she’d had to hold on tight as he literally _jumped_ his way back to National City. Every time they went sharply skywards, Lena had to actively prevent herself from throwing up, while every descent reminded her of several nightmares she’d had about being in a plane crash. The horrible journey had taken way too long for Lena’s liking and when they finally touched down in the city, and Mon-el made one last clumsy jump up to her office balcony, Lena stumbled out of his arms and had to hold on to the railing to not fall over. She slowly breathed in the cold night air, fighting the urge to throw up. She took a moment for her knees to stop wobbling, before she took a tentative step and took note that the world was spinning slightly slower. Progress, I guess…

“Are, um… are you alright?”

Lena swallowed down the bile in her throat as she (very carefully) turned around to face Mon-el. Incredibly, she didn’t fall over. “I’ll be fine, I just…” she huffed out a breath, “…I hate flying.”

“Well, we didn’t technically _fly_ but-” he quickly stopped himself at the sight of Lena’s murderous glare, before backpedalling; “Okay, yeah… not the point, you’re right.” He nervously cleared his throat, before looking across the city. “I should probably get going, see if there’s any way I can help Supergirl to-”

“Wait…”

Lena carefully breathed in and out a few times, to make sure she really wasn’t about to be sick, before she tentatively looked Mon-el over. It’s not like his father had demanded anything of her. It’s not like the king had asked anything other of her than to get his son out of the clutches of Rhea and her arranged marriage. But still, it was the right thing to do…

“Do you…” Lena nervously cleared her throat, “…do you know what, um… what happened to your father?” Mon-el looked very surprised, before turning sad and hanging his head down. “Yes, I- I know he died. Mother told me.” Lena took a careful look at the man’s face before continuing; “Do you know… _how_ he died?” Mon-el looked back up, looking confused but also… scared.

“He- he killed himself…”

Lena swallowed, watching the Daxamite say the words with very little conviction. “Mon-el,” she started carefully, “your mother, she… she told me some things.” Lena paused, looking for the right words as Mon-el started to frown deeper. If Lena had to take a guess, she would say that he already knew what was coming. “Rhea… she killed your father.”

Mon-el’s face contorted and  he quickly turned around, releasing a ragged breath. He took a few steps, letting his hand go through his hair before turning back around, standing with his hands on his hips in a much sadder variation of Supergirl’s signature pose. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, should I?” He tried to smile, but failed miserably as he hung his head down while visibly fighting back tears. If Lena knew the words to make him feel any better she would have used them, but she was pretty sure there weren’t any that would do the trick. “I mean… the whole invading a planet thing, the marriage…” he scoffed, while shaking his head, “…mother’s a total psycho.”

“Yeah, well… join the club.”

That actually got a wholehearted laugh out of the man, and Lena gave him a small smile while his laughter gradually died down. He wiped at his face, then gave Lena a solemn look. “Thank you,” he said, “for telling me.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He gave a small smile, before turning to look at the city again. “Alright, I… I really have to go now. Hopefully Winn will have figured out a way to get Supergirl out of there.” He turned to Lena. “And you… will try to figure out a way to stop mother?” Lena gave him a determined nod and held up her right forearm, patting the sleeve that was still hiding the Daxamite Drive. “You can count on it.”

Mon-el nodded back before moving towards the railing and crouching down to jump.

“Wait!”

Mon-el froze, before awkwardly straightening up. “You, um- I mean-” Lena stuttered. “You will… check on Kara, won’t you? See if she’s alright?”

“Yes. Right… Of course, I- I will do that.”

He gave her one last nod, before jumping over the railing and falling down all the way to the ground. There was a loud thud, and very soon Lena could see the man’s silhouette leaping up several blocks away. Lena let out a long sigh of relief. It was going to be fine. Kara’s super-powered boyfriend would find her and nothing would happen to her. Good… that was good. Lena carefully moved towards her balcony door, which thankfully wasn’t locked, and stepped inside the darkness of her office. She didn’t even bother to turn the lights on as she stepped straight towards her liquor cabinet. She poured herself something very strong (because escaping an intergalactically arranged marriage definitely called for alcohol) and suddenly realised that Mon-el had mentioned Winn. Which meant he was alright too…

Lena closed her eyes and took an inelegantly large gulp from her drink, realising that that only left Maggie. Lena’s brain, being mathematically superior but apparently emotionally tactless, immediately had a very complicated calculation at the ready which concluded in Maggie’s probability for survival being depressingly low. Lena ticked her nail against the glass, feeling the Daxam Drive pressing against her forearm. She needed to start working. The faster she could get to the information about the Daxamite aircrafts, the sooner all the people in the City would be safe. Not to mention the rest of the planet, which would inevitably-

“WHO’S THERE?!”

Lena spun around, narrowly avoiding her glass from slipping out of her hand, and saw a trembling figure standing in the shadows by the doors of her office, while holding something out in their hand. “I’m- I’m warning you” a shaky voice spoke, “I- I have a gun, so… so d-don’t try anything or I’ll-”

“Jess?”

There was a loud intake of breath as suddenly the lights flicked on, revealing a slightly trembling Jess with her right hand on the light switch and a stapler in her left. Lena raised an eyebrow at her assistant. “Are you gonna staple me to death?” she asked teasingly.

“MS. LUTHOR!!”

Lena didn’t have time to react, because within about half a second Jess had realised who she was, had sprinted across the office and had basically tackled her into a fierce hug. Lena laughed as she staggered  backwards, barely keeping herself standing straight up. “Ms. Luthor, you’re okay!! You’re not dead!! I kept telling those idiots from PR that we shouldn’t make assumptions, but they’re such unbelievable assholes and-”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay” Lena muttered, still laughing slightly at the overenthusiastic greeting. Jess stepped back, nothing but relief on her face as she looked the CEO up and down. “What are you still doing here, Jess?” Lena asked. “It’s the middle of the night.” Jess laughed, before finally putting her stapler down. “Well, someone had to man the fort. I’m telling you, some of those board members are like buzzards, all it takes is a whiff of bad news for them to pounce. Of course, that wouldn’t be a problem if bad news didn’t spill out so fast but again, those _morons_ down in PR just won’t-”

“Alright, alright, Jess,” Lena laughed, halting the woman’s rambling. Jess’ smile faltered however, as she took another look at Lena. “Um… Ms. Luthor…” she started, “what are you wearing?” Lena laughed, looking down at the red dress she was still wearing. “That’s a long story, Jess, but let’s just say it was at least good for _something_.” Jess gave her a confused look, while Lena proceeded to remove the Daxam Drive from her right sleeve and hold it up in front of them, her eyes turning serious. “This device holds all the technical information about the spaceships hanging over the city,” she explained. “If I can get into it and convert the information, we might be able to find a way to defeat these invaders.” (Just like the Rebels did in ‘A New Hope’!) _Not the right time, Lena!_

Jess just stared at the drive wide-eyed for a moment, before straightening herself and lifting her chin. “What do you need me to do?”

“I need you to get my tools from my private lab. Also, I left my phone on site at our outdoor Lab no. 3.” Jess just nodded firmly before making a beeline for the door. “Oh, and Jess…” Jess turned around by the door and gave her a questioning look. “Also, um…” Lena glanced down towards her dress, “…a change of clothes would be nice.”

“Right, of course.”

Jess sped out of the office and took out her phone. Lena could still hear her voice as she approached the elevator: “Trevor, it’s me. I need the car out front in five minutes, we’re going to Lab 3 to… YES, I KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!! NOW GET YOUR LAZY BUTT OUT OF BED, MS. LUTHOR NEEDS TO SAVE THE WORLD!!”

 

Right. Jess was definitely getting a raise…

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man... When I started this story, I really wanted to wrap it up before season 3 aired. Who knew writing was so darn time-consuming?
> 
> Next chapter is the last bit of season 2 canon. I won't follow season 3 canon (obviously), 'cause I wrote the outline way back in June.


	11. Lionel Luthor - part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During and after 2x22

_May 12 th 2017_

“Oh, come on!!”

Lena breathed out of her nose in frustration while swatting at the smoke in front of her. Up on Jess’s desk sat a fuming laptop, which was now the fourth in a line of PC’s that were unable to sustain a connection with the Daxam Drive.

It had taken all night just to get into the damn thing. There was no clear point of connection, and every attempt at attaching any sort of cable or wire to it had been futile. At 5:30 AM, Lena had finally had enough and had started breaking the Drive open. It seemed rather hazardous (which proved to be true, given all the sparks it had given off) but on the inside she had finally found some wirework that seemed fit to connect with human technology, but of course it wasn’t that simple. The stack of broken computers on the desk in front of her definitely proved that. But she couldn’t just give up. Yes, there was a far more human and plausible alternative waiting for her in her office. But if working alongside her mother wasn’t bad enough, doing it while knowing that the end result might banish Mon-el from earth forever made it far worse. First she was about to marry him, now she was about to make the atmosphere unbreathable for him. The universe seemed intent on making her the worst friend in the world. Lena was determined to fight against it, however, which is how she ended up working on one impossibly complicated project in her office, while using frequent bathroom breaks as an excuse to work on the more Daxamite-friendly alternative.

Jess was standing beside her, fire extinguisher in hand, and a concerned look on her face. “Well… at least it didn’t explode it this time” she said carefully. Lena groaned, rubbing her tired eyes and racking her brain for a solution. “Yes, but the power is still unstable. If the high-voltage cables and the transfusor aren’t enough to ramp it down then I’m not sure-”

“Hey! Lena!”

“GET BACK! WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!”

“Jess!” Lena exclaimed. “It’s okay! He’s a friend!”

Jess froze mid-swing, with the fire extinguisher high over her head, while Winn was crouching on the floor and covering his head with his arms. Lena cleared her throat. “Jess, this is my friend, Winn Schott Jr., Winn, this is my assistant Jessica Huang.” Winn got up from his crouched position and made an indignant noise, while Jess slowly lowered the fire extinguisher, still glaring unsurely at the man. “Really?” Winn drawled, while eyeing the heavy object he’d almost been whacked over the head with. “Don’t you mean bodyguard?”

“I multitask” Jess deadpanned.

The two just kept glaring at each other suspiciously. Lena was starting to get uncomfortable, so she spoke up; “Jess, why don’t you see if you can get some more laptops from downstairs, and some more of those smaller cables, while you’re at it.” Jess slowly nodded her head, her eyes still locked with Winn. The man was trying his best to match the glare-intensity, but flinched visibly at the sound of  the extinguisher dropping to the floor. Jess may have looked a little smug as she walked past him.

“Winn” Lena started, drawing the man’s attention, “I’m glad you’re okay, but what are you doing here?”

“Oh, Supergirl told us your plan. The FBI sent me to help!”

“Well, it was my mother’s plan” Lena grumbled. “So I guess I’m no longer on the FBI’s suspicious citizen list?”

“If that list exists, I haven’t seen it.”

Lena chuckled as Winn moved closer to the desk. “So, is this it?” he asked.

“Um, no that’s… something I smuggled of the spaceship.” Winn looked at her with wide eyes. “According to Mon-el it contains the technical information of the aircraft. I thought if we could use this to figure out a counter-measure then-”

“Then Mon-el wouldn’t be screwed!” Winn looked incredibly excited as Lena just nodded. “But- but then, we need to get this to the D- I mean, to the FBI! They will know how to-”

“There’s no time, Winn” Lena interrupted. “Supergirl had to go and take that stupid fight, so now we’re on a clock. You just go in there and keep working on that thing Lex built, and I’ll drop in as soon as I can.” Winn looked from the mess on Jess’s desk to Lena and back again, not seeming at all convinced by the plan. “Winn, if you have a better idea I would _love_ to hear it.”

The man stayed silent for a moment, before hanging his head in defeat and sighing loudly. “Nope, no ideas” he grumbled. “It’s still not fair, though,” he said looking at Lena seriously, “that your mother can just waltz in here and basically make us work for her.”

“Yeah, well, I’m afraid the police are indisposed at the moment” Lena responded wryly.

“Couldn’t you have sicced Jess on her?”

Lena snickered. “I think she was a little too shocked to do anything.”

“Right… well I guess I’ll just-”

“Wait…” Lena stopped him just as he was  about to step towards the office. “Did you hear from Kara?” she asked urgently. “Mon-el said he’d check up on her, but I’ve been trying to call her almost all night and she’s not picking up.” In the few milliseconds that Winn took to dart his eyes back and forward before replying, Lena’s heart constricted. Was he not sure where she was? Was she missing? Was he about to say that she got hurt? Was he debating whether he should give her bad news at such a critical time? And what kind of bad news? Critical injury bad? Or was it worse? Was it so bad that-

“Yeah, I’m- I’m pretty sure she’s fine.”

“Pretty sure?! What does that mean?! Did you talk to her?!”

“No- I mean, well, yes, but…”

“Which one is it?! Spit it out!!”

Winn jumped nervously at her outburst. “I mean yes. I did, I talked to her, it’s just…” he darted his eyes sideways in that nervous way again, which was causing Lena to lose her cool even further. “…It’s just that, um… it was a while ago. Yes, that- that’s what I meant. She was okay before, but… I don’t know where she is right now.”

“You… you don’t know where she is? So… she didn’t just lock herself in her apartment?”

Winn actually laughed at that. “Come on, Lena, this is Kara we’re talking about. She went to talk to Cat Grant before, so… I don’t know, she’s probably at CatCo. Valiantly reporting on all the craziness out there!”

Lena swallowed, not entirely at ease with the assumptions made, but that _was_ a reasonable theory. Although it didn’t explain why she didn’t pick up her phone. Maybe she lost it. Yes, that was possible. And that was the possibility she was going to stick with for now. Because she was _not_ going to think of the alternatives. She was not going to picture Kara in a hospitable bed, unconscious. She was not going to picture Kara bleeding in the street, too injured to call for help. She was not picturing Kara lying on the floor, too dead to-

No!! No, no, no, no, she was not thinking about that. Definitely not thin-

“Lena… are you okay?”

Lena inhaled sharply as she got pulled out of her worst nightmare and remembered she was supposed to be saving the world. And that she was so stubborn she needed to do it her own way. Right. “Yes, I’m- I’m fine. You go ahead, I’ll be right there.”

Winn nodded. “Of course. You can always count on your BUDDIE!”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “Do I even want to know-”

“Brotherly Understudy Dissolving Deceased Into Ectoplasm!”

“I think you’re getting worse at this…”

Winn grumbled to himself as he stepped towards the office. “I still think PALL was the best one…” he mumbled under his breath.

Lena watched as he carefully stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. She glanced back at the mess of jumbled cables and destroyed laptops on Jess’s desk and realised she didn’t have much time left. With Winn helping her out, it would definitely speed up the adjustments she needed to make to Lex’s device. Which meant it was time for desperate measures. Lena marched over to the elevator, rounded the corner leading to the stairs and stepped into the only bathroom on the floor. She closed the door and nervously looked over at her own reflection in the mirrors lining the wall opposite to the stalls. This was a long shot, but…

“Mr. Gand?” she said unsurely. “King Lar Gand?” she called out slightly louder. She looked around the small space, but there was still no sign of the alien who would be able to tell her everything about the Drive. “Your Highness?” she tried. Still, nothing happened. Lena sighed to herself, thinking she probably shouldn’t be surprised. Assuming he had even figured out how to listen out for distant calls, the man’s wife was about to be entangled in mortal combat with Supergirl and his son was probably somewhere out in the chaotic streets of National City.

Great, Lena thought bitterly, so she was on her own with the Drive. There was another thing she might be able to do, however. Someone she could call on that would definitely hear her. Considering he was just a few feet away, in her office. “Dad…”

Lionel Luthor instantly appeared, mid-pacing, and looking extremely worried. “Dad, I need you to-”

“This is it, Lena” he interrupted, while still pacing nervously with his eyes fixed on the floor. “I… What?” Lena questioned. “This is it” Lionel reiterated, coming to a stop and finally lifting his head to look at her. “Haven’t you seen the streets outside? Don’t you know what’s happening?!”

“Of course I do,” Lena said, frowning at the man. “We’re being invaded by aliens who-”

“No!!” Lionel furiously shook his head and Lena was starting to get worried by his frantic behaviour. “That’s not what I mean! The streets, Lena… There’s chaos in the street and people are running and panicking… just like I saw it back then…”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up, understanding finally dawning on her. “Oh…” She had to admit that the man’s visions had been about the last thing on her mind for the past 24 hours. “Look, um… we can’t be thinking about that right now, okay? I need you to go and look for Kara and see if she’s alright. She should be at CatCo, but you might want to check her apartment too, just to be sure. Or maybe see if she’s hanging around Supergirl,” Lena nervously wrung her hands together, “I doubt they would let her near the fight, but you never know with Kara, she can be very persistent.”

Her father was looking at her, a completely frazzled look on his face. “Wha- What are you…” he shook his head, disbelief in his eyes and clearly still freaked out by the current events that were lining up to match his visions. “What are you talking about, Lena?! Don’t you get it, you could be about to die!! You just… you need to lock yourself up somewhere… wait this out-”

“Dad” Lena said incredulously, “you know I can’t do that.” She looked on as Lionel was darting his eyes across her face, his panic increasingly evident. “If Supergirl can’t win this fight then I’m the only one who can provide back-up, and let’s face it,” Lena scoffed, “she’s not exactly perfect.” Lionel was shaking his head before she’d even finished talking. “But you can’t stay around your mother” he said urgently. “It’s just too dangerous, just let the other guy handle it!”

“I can’t just leave Winn to do this on his own! What good would I be doing if I just hid somewhere, if that meant that the rest of the world might be doomed?”

“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE REST OF THE WORLD!!”

Lena’s eyes widened, taking in the man’s panicked expression and the way he was breathing heavily. Somehow the man’s fear seemed to make her feel more calm by contrast. She let out a long breath, reminded herself of the task at hand, reminded herself of her poise and her dignity, and spoke again calmly.

“Well, I do… and I care about Kara. I care about the one person who believed in me when nobody else did. When everybody was too busy assuming I was evil and figuring out how to catch mother, _she_ saved me. When everybody else had better things to do, _she_ never stopped looking for me. So now I’m going to do the same for her. I am Lena Goddamn Luthor and I’m telling you that the world won’t die today, and neither will Kara! Not if I have anything to say about it!”

“And what about you?!” Lionel retorted. “What’s the point of saving everyone else if you can’t even save yourself?!”

“Some things are bigger than just me… Look, dad… I’m not alone. Winn is still here, and if worse comes to worse, I have a gun in my safe. So” Lena shrugged, “I’ll take my chances…” she gave her father an intent look “…because I can’t live in fear.” Lionel still looked torn, but at least he seemed to have calmed down a little. “There’s nothing you can do here right now, dad,” Lena swallowed nervously, “except making sure that Kara is alright. It would… it would really be a load of my shoulders.” The man hung his head and sighed, then let a hand go over his face. Lionel looked back up, still with a pained expression but after a beat, he nodded.

“Just… don’t lose sight of your mother. Always watch your back and,” Lionel’s eyes darted towards the window, “don’t go outside. If- if we can prevent the first part… if we can make sure you’re never in the street… and Lillian can’t hurt you there… maybe the second part won’t happen either.” He sighed again and looked her over. “Just, please, whatever you do…” Lionel gave her a pained expression, “...stay safe.” With that, he closed his eyes and in an instant, he was gone.

Lena let out a measured breath through her nose, and looked at her dishevelled reflection staring back at her from the mirrors. Okay. No problem. Lionel would find out were Kara was, hopefully sooner rather than later, and she would just have to focus on her chance to save the world. In a practical way, and in an ideal way. At the same time. Lena steeled herself and turned around, marching her way back to her office, while forcing her mind to stay on track instead of drifting into calculations about the survival probabilities of intrepid junior reporters during an alien invasion.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lena quickly made her way up the stairs of the apartment complex with two steps at the time. Trevor had been hesitant to drive her anywhere at first, but after several reassurances that the invasion was definitely over, he had finally given in and had manoeuvred his way through the many craters in the streets of National City, dropping Lena off, before heading to check CatCo with Jess. Lena wasn’t a reckless person. When she took risks, they were calculated. So naturally, she considered her choice to go and check Kara’s apartment this short after an attempted invasion had been thwarted perfectly reasonable.

After Lex’s cube had been activated, Winn had been immediately called back to the FBI. And Kara still wasn’t answering her phone. And Lionel still hadn’t returned with news on the reporter’s whereabouts. It’s not like she’d forgotten about her father’s warning, but her mother had been too busy smugly looking over the city from the balcony to even pay attention to her. So now Lena found herself in Kara’s building, hastily climbing the stairs to personally check if Kara was there. She had just reached the correct floor, when she turned the corner and abruptly came to a stop. She inhaled sharply and closed her eyes for a moment, completely taken off guard by the presence of her father.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”

Lena opened her eyes and gave her father a  questioning look, noticing that the man seemed very angry. “Didn’t I tell you not to go outside?!” he hissed. “Didn’t I tell you not to lose sight of your mother?!” Lena’s frown grew deeper at the man’s tone. “Mother was clearly otherwise occupied,” she started slowly, “and besides… the city is safe. There are no more people running, no one is panicking, I mean… it’s over.” Lena gave her father a tentative smile. “If I didn’t get hurt now it’s… it’s over right? We averted the future you saw-”

“We don’t know that!!”

Lena’s smile slowly disappeared, as her father was clearly besides himself and obviously not at all comforted by the repelling of the alien invaders. “Come on, Dad,” Lena scoffed, “you really think something like this would happen again anytime soon? That… that there would be a city-wide panic and people running through the street and- and mother being there without getting herself arrested?”

“Just a few hours ago we were about to be invaded by aliens!” Lionel retorted angrily. “It wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen in this city!”

“Well sure, but…” Lena sighed and shook her head, “look, dad, I simply _needed_ to check if Kara was in her apartment so I-”

“She is.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “What?! Kara’s home?! Why didn’t you tell me-”

“I tried to!” Lionel barked angrily. “I went back to your office, but you weren’t there! No one was! Not you, not that other guy and not your mother! She got away, _again!_ ” Lionel breathed out his nose in anger while Lena looked at the floor, feeling partly self-conscious, and partly defiant. “None of this would have happened if you’d just stayed in your building! If you’d just hidden away and waited for-”

“That’s enough!”

Lena’s head shot up as she glared at her father, the man looking surprised although still clearly angry. “I get that you’re worried about me, but I couldn’t just ignore a chance to end an alien invasion!! I can’t just ignore the fact that the world as we know it might end just because I’m scared for my own life!! Some things are more important than my life!! Some- some people…” Lena faltered, her eyes darting towards the door of apartment 4a “…are more important” she finished softly. She fixed her eyes back on her father, giving him a challenging look. Lionel was frowning very deeply, his face still showing signs of anger.

“Not to me” Lionel stated. He let out a long breath and shook his head, still frowning. “As long as your mother is out there, you will not be safe. Maybe _you_ have lost interest in preventing your impending death, but I haven’t. So…” he gave her a scrutinising look from top to bottom, his eyes unusually cold, “…call on me when you have sorted out your priorities.”

Suddenly, the man closed his eyes and disappeared. Lena looked on in disbelief at the spot he’d just been standing. He couldn’t seriously be that petty, could he? “Dad” she called softly. She looked around, but nothing happened. “Dad” she called out, slightly louder this time, while checking the hallway to make sure no one was there. “Dad!” she hissed. Still no reaction…

Lena huffed out a breath and shook her head. Fine, let him cool off. It’s not like her father’s concern wasn’t touching. But the suggestion that she should’ve let the world burn (so to speak) just to save herself from a possible, not exactly scientifically provable and essentially imaginary shooting, was slightly disconcerting. And alright, fair enough, leaving her mother unsupervised and free to escape _was_ a dumb move. But even Lena Luthor’s brain had its limits. She could fix an impossibly complicated device created by none other than Lex Luthor, sure. She could also make some progress breaking into strange alien technology at the same time, no problem. She could even do it all while being worried sick about her best friend’s wellbeing. But you couldn’t expect her to keep thinking rationally when the imminent danger was over and she had the opportunity to actually go looking for Kara. I mean, anyone would have done the same. Right?

As Lena moved further into the hallway and came to a stop in front of apartment 4a, she could feel logic tugging at her consciousness. It was the same logic that had been bugging her ever since Sam had passed on but just like before, she steadily ignored it. Because logic didn’t make sense this time. She knew that was a paradox, but whatever! Philosophy, space and a whole lot of other things had paradoxes, it was no big deal. In fact, it was somewhat fitting that Kara Danvers was a paradox. It was perfectly fine. Because logic made no sense. Not this time…

Lena carefully knocked on the door in front of her. “Kara” she called softly, “it’s me.” The reporter didn’t answer immediately. Lena had to wait unusually long for Kara to answer her door and when she did, the door didn’t fly open to reveal a broad smile and a warm hug, like usual. Instead, the door opened very slowly, a very meek looking Kara with a lost look in her eyes on the other side. “Oh… hi, Lena.”

The intense relief of seeing Kara in one piece was quickly washed away by the sight of her best friend in this state. “Can I… can I come in?” Lena asked carefully. Kara just nodded, letting Lena into the apartment and closing the door. Lena turned to look at her, finding Kara with her arms around herself and that same lost look in her eyes as she kept staring at the floor. “You… you didn’t have to come all the way over here” Kara said weakly.

“You weren’t answering your phone” Lena said, her heart constricting more and more every second that Kara refused to look at her. “Yeah, um- I- my battery died” Kara stammered. Lena nodded, still feeling incredibly relieved that it was just the woman’s battery doing the dying.

“I’m sorry” Lena blurted out. “I should have tried harder to… but- but I couldn’t- I… I’m so sorry.”  Kara actually looked up at her now, and while usually seeing the woman’s honest, kind, perfect blue eyes would always make her feel like everything would be alright with the world, now she just felt devastated at the sadness in them. Especially knowing that she was responsible for putting it there.

“Only you…” Kara said softly. Lena gave her an uncertain look as Kara actually gave a small, albeit sad smile. “…only you would apologise for saving the world.” Kara actually shook her head at her with exasperated fondness. Lena felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders, realising that Kara wasn’t angry at her. She probably would have deserved it. Kara was way too forgiving and she still felt bad about everything, felt bad that she had failed to break into the Drive but had succeeded in poisoning the atmosphere for Mon-el. But if Kara was willing to let her off the hook, she wasn’t going to complain about it.

“It was all fine really,” Kara said, starting to pace while looking at the ground and still hugging her torso, “he got away in an alien pod and… I- I got to say goodbye and… I gave him my mother’s necklace,” she let her hand go over her bare neck, “and- and the pod… they set it on course to Maaldoria, which- it’s not a very nice place… I mean, it’s pretty horrible… but at least we know he’ll be safe there, since- since he’s technically their prince.”

Lena just nodded along, never having imagined how heart-wrenching it could be to watch one of Kara Danvers’ usually so adorable rambling sessions. “So you... you really don’t need to apologise. I mean, of course you don’t, you saved everyone and- and after all… in the end…” Kara stopped pacing and looked at a spot on the floor, seeming lost in her thoughts “…in the end… it was Supergirl who made the choice…”

Kara just kept looking at the floor, looking as sad as Lena had ever seen her, and Lena wished she knew what she would have to say or what she would have to do, to make it better. She was a scientist; she thought in solutions, but people weren’t that simple to fix oftentimes. She opened and closed her mouth a few times but in the end, Lena decided to go for levity.

“Well…” she started, “…I could always go all evil on her.” She gave a valiant attempt at a smirk,  trying to get Kara to at least crack the tiniest of smiles. “We’ll take her down together, you and me. I’ll put my Luthor genes to good use and we’ll give her some Kryptonite-flavoured payback!” She was just trying to get a laugh out of the heartbroken reporter but the scary part was that if Kara asked, she’d probably do it, too… “You just watch. If you thought Lex was scary than you haven’t seen-”

Lena stopped herself and inhaled sharply, because Kara had started shaking and tears were silently starting to flow down her face. “No… no, no, no, Kara, I was kidding” Lena urgently stepped closer, “you know I was just kidding, right? I know she’s your friend, I wouldn’t- I would never…” Lena’s breath hitched in her throat as Kara took a step and, without saying a word, hugged her tightly. Then, the crying got worse.

“Kara… Kara, please…”

She needed to stop crying. Kara should never be made to feel like this. It needed to stop. What good was a saved world, if it was a world where Kara Danvers was crying like this? “…just- just tell me…” Lena said in an unsteady voice “…tell me what to do. Anything you need, just- tell me… tell me, and I’ll do it.”

Kara was now crying freely, but in between her bursts of tears she managed to answer her anyway: “Just hold me…”

So Lena did. She wrapped her arms around Kara and held her tight, feeling every shake, every hiccup, every tear that fell onto her shoulder. Lena closed her eyes to fight the burning feeling in them, because this was not the same. Consoling Maggie had been slightly awkward, and with Jess she had understood and she’d felt bad for her, but this was not the same. Every sob was like a punch to the gut. The more of Kara’s tears she felt falling onto her, the more it seemed like her heart was being carved into with a rusty knife. As Kara just kept on crying, she could feel her throat closing up, the sounds that left Kara’s lips too agonising to bear. She felt useless. She was absolutely powerless in front of the injustice of Kara Danvers being heartbroken. It wasn’t right, it needed to stop. She needed to stop crying… Kara didn’t deserve this… It should be someone else feeling like this, but not Kara. Not Kara, not Kara…

Anyone… but not her Kara.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_Lillian Luthor looked over the streets of National City from the balcony on the top floor of the building on Cordova Street. She briefly glanced towards the sky, where the alien spaceships had been hovering before they’d retreated not too long ago. She smiled, feeling satisfied at how well things had worked out, despite Supergirl escaping the destruction at the hand of a positron canon. That had been an improvised plan, after all. No, the real plan was still sitting in the office behind her, and it was time to make her move. She slid her hand into the pocket of her coat, slowly turning around before stepping inside. Lillian suddenly paused her movements, surprised by the sight before her. Lena had apparently left…_

_Lillian let out a laugh, releasing her grip on the gun in her pocket and stepping towards the desk. Who would have thought that an invasion would be the perfect opportunity? Who would have thought that aliens would be the cause of their own downfall? That all it would take was the threat of a Daxam colonisation, for Lena to do her bidding? Lillian picked up the cube-shaped device from the desk and flashed another unsettling smile. Just some modifications by her involuntary assistant, and they’d be all set. And of course, a way to control the device without a remote. It had definitely been annoying to see Lena thinking a step ahead, but unfortunately for her, Lillian Luthor was not going to take risks this time. If there was even the slightest chance of Lena interfering with Cadmus’ plans again, it needed to be stopped at the root. Such a waste of a promising mind…_

_Lillian temporarily put the device back down and reached into her other pocket. She took out the receptor and the explosives and crouched down to attach them under the desk. It took her less than two minutes, finally sealing the whole contraption off with white tape. As the leader of Cadmus stood back up and retrieved Lex’s device, she marvelled at her daughter’s lack of practical insight. Not even a single security camera in her own office… Lillian scoffed, moving the device under her arm and reaching into her pocket for her gun again as she stepped up to the double doors. She opened one of the doors then swiftly stepped through, pointing her gun and ready to kill the assistant. But no one was there…_

_Lillian slowly lowered her gun as she stepped closer to the desk in the hallway. She raised an eyebrow at the mess of wires and hardware on display, before once again looking around to make sure no one was there. Well, well… It seemed her daughter was truly more careless than she’d imagined. Lillian Luthor grinned as she moved towards the elevator. She fondly looked at the device under her arm that her dear son had built, and that her daughter had ultimately fixed. And that she herself would now perfect._

_It truly was a shame that Lena would have to be dealt with. But there was no room for quarter in this war. Her daughter had made it clear that she wished to side with the traitors to the human race. That despite the alien invasion they had just almost been subjected to, she continued to live in her fairy tale state of mind, where aliens had feelings and had other things on their minds besides subduing all humans. Lena’s fate was regrettable, but Cadmus was bigger than one misguided young mind. Cadmus would be the true Luthor legacy, the force that would save all mankind. Cadmus would be on the right side of history and would eventually obliterate all those against it._

_And if you’re not with us…_

_…then you’re against us._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are now free from the shackles of canon! Watch me take full advantage of that in the next chapter. *maniacal evil laughter*


	12. Harold Jackson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being in the tags for about four months... Alex finally makes an appearance!

_May 15 th 2017_

 

“Move out! Move out!”

The sound of heavy boots on the concrete pavement echoed through the small underground parking lot. About a dozen agents, all clad in black, ran quickly towards a van and spurted inside with practiced efficiency. Alex Danvers was the last one in, slamming her hand against the far side of the crammed space to signal the driver, while Vasquez closed the doors behind her. The unmarked black van quickly took off, the tires screeching loudly as it steered its way out of the exit and into the streets of National City. Alex took her spot on one of the two benches that were facing each other, feeling very annoyed. The two days after the end of the invasion had been pretty quiet, but of course you could count on a Monday to screw things up. And to think the day had started so quietly, Alex thought, as she pressed a button on her comm.

“Supergirl, we are five minutes out at worst. What’s the situation?”

_“There was a bomb, Alex!”_

Alex’s senses tensed, as her sister seemed very distressed. It wasn’t usual for Kara to panic during Supergirl situations but after all, it _had_ been a rough couple of days for her.

_“It was right in her office! If I hadn’t already been there, she- Lena would have…”_

“Alright, just calm down. Did you get her out? Is the building holding up? What kind of damage are we looking at?”

_“Yes, Lena’s in front of the entrance now. It- it was just the top floor, as far as I can tell. Hang on, I’m going back in for Jess.”_

Kara’s end went silent and Alex turned her attention to the other agents in the van. “The situation is under control. You,” she pointed towards the agents on the opposite bench, “just secure the entrance and the lobby, make sure nobody leaves or gets in. Vasquez, you take the rest and do a thorough sweep of the top floor. I’ll wait for Supergirl to bring back anything that was left of the bomb, see if we can analyse it.” The agents nodded seriously in return.

It took exactly two and a half minutes to get to L-Corp and as soon as the black van came to a screeching halt in front of the entrance, the DEO agents started flooding out. Alex stepped out after the rest, throwing a glance up at the tall structure and seeing thick dark clouds spreading out from the top floor. Alex looked back down, proudly observing the agents as they swiftly executed her orders. As she watched them enter the building, however, she noticed some commotion happening.

The police was already there (they were getting faster, damn it!) and they had apparently already set up a few steel barricades to hold off some curious bystanders. She also saw two police officers, appearing to forcefully hold back someone who was trying to get into the building. Alex stepped closer, intending to swiftly put an end to the scuffle, but she slowed down when she realised what was happening. The person trying to push past the two officers was none other than Lena Luthor, and Alex started to frown at the state the woman was in.

Physically, she seemed fine. You would never be able to tell that she had just narrowly escaped an explosion. But she also looked like she was about to bite someone’s head off. Alex’s frown grew deeper as she stepped closer and saw the usually so composed and even-tempered woman screaming and hurling insults and threats at the police officers. She looked like a mad-woman as she kept on yelling, while a small woman who was covered in soot (and whom Alex guessed had to be Jess) was very unsuccessfully trying to calm her down. However, amidst the many profanities and threats about lawsuits, Lena suddenly noticed Alex stepping closer and her expression completely changed.

“Alex!!”

Alex watched on in astonishment as Lena completely lost interest in fighting her way past the police officers, instead running up to her with a desperate look on her face. That sight, combined with the sudden familiarity, momentarily threw Alex for a loop. “Kara is still up there, Alex!! We were having lunch and- and then this happened and- please, Alex, say something to Supergirl!! What the hell is she doing?! Why didn’t she get her out of there right away?! What is wrong with h-”

“Calm down, Ms. Luthor,” Alex said sternly, finding her voice again, “Kara is fine.” Relief instantly washed over Lena’s face. “There, um… was a lot of smoke,” Alex improvised, “so… Supergirl had to fly her out on the other side.”

“So…” Lena said softly, almost whispering, “…she’s not hurt?”

“No,” Alex confirmed, still all business, “like I said, she’s fine.”

Alex kept frowning at the sight of Lena’s shoulders slumping while she slowly let out a shaky breath. She could have sworn she’d also just heard her whimper. Granted, she’d never had many interactions with the CEO, but the times she would see her on TV or at some other public event she was always the embodiment of restraint. Always composed and closed off. It was a very stark contrast to the woman who was now standing in front of her, clutching her trembling hands together.

Alex cleared her throat, forcing her mind to move past the baffling sight. “They’re still checking her out,” Alex said, “ but I’m sure she’ll contact you as soon as possible, alright?” Lena just nodded, her hands still shaking, and looking at Alex like she’d just personally saved her from certain death. “Thank you…” she said weakly. Alex looked on as the woman she presumed to be Jess, carefully started guiding the young CEO away from the entrance, and Lena just allowed her to, her previously displayed fury appearing to have gone. Alex wasn’t sure what to make of it. Sure, Kara would never shut up about how great and fantastic and caring the woman was, and Alex was pretty sure she would soon run out of adjectives to describe the youngest Luthor, but the problem was that she was still just that: A Luthor.

Alex marched across the sidewalk, away from the entrance, in order to get a better look at the side of the building where most of the smoke was coming from. She tried to concentrate on the dark fumes above her, but she ended up looking back towards the entrance. Jess was now carefully getting Lena to step into the back of a large car, seemingly talking to her, while Lena just nodded, looking completely shell-shocked. It’s not that Alex didn’t trust her sister’s judgement. It really wasn’t that. It’s just that the Luthors had already proven to be great actors in the past…

Alex sighed, crossed her arms, and watched the car that was carrying Lena Luthor steer into traffic. She looked on as it made its way past the jungle of cones in the street; all the craters from the invasion still being repaired. She felt a soft gust of wind and she didn’t need to look, to know that Kara had just landed beside her. Alex started frowning, both sisters looking on as the car drove out of human eyesight, because she could sense what was coming. She knew, because of the same argument they’d been having over and over again for the past month. She knew, because as she quickly glanced sideways, she could see Kara looking out were Lena’s car had to be now, undoubtedly still following the vehicle with her alien vision, looking torn and ridden with guilt.

“Alex…”

Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“…I need to tell her.”

Alex exhaled sharply and looked at the pavement. She supposed she should have expected as much after what had just happened. Alex still didn’t like it. She’d stayed quiet many times when Kara was defending Lena, but Alex couldn’t just entrust her little sister’s life into the hands of a Luthor that easily. So she’d convinced Kara to wait. She’d argued with her over and over again, careful to stay reasonable and logical, because if she’d mention the words ‘she’s a Luthor’ even once, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get another word in. As she looked to her side now, however, and met her sister’s pleading eyes, she realised that nothing she could say right now would be able to hold up. Alex still didn’t like it. Kara was still devastated after losing Mon-el and she didn’t think this would end up making Kara feel any better. But she knew she couldn’t argue with her right now. There was no way that she could tell that heartbroken face that revealing her secret to a Luthor was the worst idea imaginable. So Alex just lifted her head, sighed deeply, and turned to walk away.

“Don’t forget the paperwork.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lena was shaking.

She barely managed to control her hands as she poured herself a full glass of scotch; the glass and the decanter clinking together repeatedly. She downed half the glass in one go, realising that the past week had seen a serious spike in her alcohol consumption. It’s not that she couldn’t handle being in danger. On the contrary; she had almost gotten used to it by now. It’s just that this had been the second time in four days that she’d had to fear for Kara’s life and quite frankly, she wasn’t sure how much more her nerves could take.

It had all seemed so normal. They’d been sitting on her office couch, eating lunch. Lena remembered laughing, while Kara was rambling away about Snapper being unreasonable in the most adorable way possible. She remembered how Kara’s face had gone serious for a moment, tilting her head sideways as if she was listening to something. She’d just been about to ask the reporter what was wrong, when the woman was suddenly engulfed by flames and a blast that felt like it pierced right through her eardrums. Lena figured she must have been knocked back, but she didn’t remember that part. She just remembered opening her eyes and a primal fear getting hold of her at the last thing she’d seen, before the couch that had apparently landed on top of her was lifted up, revealing Supergirl. Lena had never been so happy to see the alien woman. She’d just felt relieved when the superhero had deposited her on the pavement below and had shot right back up to her office. That relief quickly turning into disbelief, terror and rage, when Supergirl had returned with Jess, and not Kara.

Lena took another gulp from her drink, very conscious of the fact that if she’d had Kryptonite right then and there, she would have ended up living up to her family name. Lena suddenly snapped her head around at the sound of a few knocks on her door. She deposited her drink on the kitchen counter and slowly made her way towards the knocking. It’s not that she didn’t have faith in the building’s security team. All in all, she considered her penthouse to be a safe place. But she’d just miraculously survived the latest attempt on her life and her hands were still shaking, so she checked through the eyehole anyway, just to be sure. Lena’s breath escaped her lungs, because she saw glasses, blonde hair and those familiar honest blue eyes. Her trembling hands undid the lock as quickly as she could before flinging the door open and instantly wrapping her arms around the reporter.

“You’re okay!! Kara- you- you’re okay, right?! I-” Lena stepped back and looked Kara over scanning her for any obvious injuries.

“No, I- I’m fine” Kara stammered nervously. She cleared her throat and stepped past her into the room. Lena followed her immediately, barely remembering to close the door behind her, still feeling intensely relieved at Kara being unharmed. “Are- are you sure? I mean… you were right in front of it…” Lena let out a nervous laugh, clutching her hands together, since they still wouldn’t stop trembling, “…I’m telling you, letting you sit on the left side of the couch just brings back luck.” Lena chuckled nervously as she stepped closer to her best friend. Kara flashed a small smile, but she quickly turned serious again. Lena stepped up to her, feeling the intense urge to personally make sure she was alright.

“So you’re… you’re sure you’re alright?” Lena asked softly, holding Kara’s face in her hands and scanning her for any harm. She let her thumb go over the woman’s cheek, noticing she really _did_ seem completely unscathed. “It’s amazing…” Lena said breathlessly, “…you don’t have a scratch.”

“Well… I’m kind of indestructible.”

Lena laughed nervously, her heartrate still at a ‘Kara is in danger’ level. “That _would_ be useful, wouldn’t it?” she smirked.

“Lena…” Kara took her hands into her own and lowered them, a frown firmly in place “I- I, um… I need to tell you something important.” She was looking at her with an uncertain look in her eyes and Lena could feel the woman’s hands shaking. Or maybe that was just because they were holding her own. “I just- I- I need you to know that I wanted to tell you sooner, but- I- and not that I’m making excuses ore anything, but… it’s just that I can’t tell just anyone and- Oh gosh! Not that you’re just anyone!! I- I just…”

“Kara, it’s okay.” Lena gently squeezed the reporter’s hands, that were still holding her own, and looked fondly at her, mostly just relieved that she would still get to hear the woman ramble, instead of having to dig her out of the rubble that once was her office. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” Kara nodded, but was clearly still nervous, almost scared even.

“I- I know, it’s just…” Kara let out a shaky breath, “Okay, I’m- I’m just gonna say it. Lena, I…” Kara swallowed, darting her eyes between Lena’s, “I… I… golly, this is harder than I thought.” She let out a nervous laugh, adjusting her glasses in a motion that Lena had seen countless times, but that she still found adorable.

“Hey,” Lena said softly, taking Kara’s right hand back in her own and giving her an encouraging look, “don’t worry so much.” She gave her best friend a wide smile. “It’s just me…”

Kara’s expression relaxed a little. She just looked Lena squarely in her eyes, and stood there for a while. Lena was vaguely aware that some people might find it uncomfortable but to be honest, she felt like she could stand there looking at Kara’s honest blue eyes forever. Kara finally took a deep breath, seeming slightly more at ease, and with a determined look in her eyes, said the last words Lena was expecting to hear.

“Lena… I’m Supergirl.”

 

It didn’t register at first. Lena kept looking at Kara, not sure of what she’d just heard. For someone as smart as she was, it took her brain a long time to process the words and let them sink in, but even then, it just wouldn’t click. “What?” Lena asked breathlessly. She frowned, because that didn’t make any sense. Kara just sighed deeply before slipping her right hand out of Lena’s grasp. She slowly brought her arm up and with unsteady fingers, she removed her glasses and put them in her pocket. As Kara moved her arm up behind her head and fixed her bare eyes back onto her, Lena could feel herself tense up. Kara was slowly removing the hairband that held her ponytail together, and it was like the rest of the room was fading away. It was as if everything around Kara was fading to black, giving Lena a tunnel-like vision to the perverse transformation happening before her. It was as if time had slowed down, Kara’s movements appearing slow and lethargic and Lena wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not. Lena’s eyes widened in horror, as Kara’s golden locks slowly cascaded over her shoulders, displaying loose curly hair that, in her mind, didn’t belong there. Lena felt her heart hammering away in her chest, but not in the same pleasant fashion it usually did around the reporter. Kara’s left hand also let go of her own, bringing both of them together on the buttons of her shirt in agonisingly slow fashion. Just as Kara grasped her shirt with both hands… just as the fabric tensed… Lena wished she didn’t have to see it.

Her wish went ungranted.

Kara ripped her shirt open, revealing the S emblazoned on the blue suit beneath her clothes.

Lena could only stare. She stared at the symbol worn by the alien woman she’d respected when coming to National City. The alien woman she was proud to collaborate with at her gala. The woman she’d been less than fond of ever since Jack had died. Lena took in everything; the hairband on the floor, the grandma shoes, those ugly brown pants that Kara loved so much, the glasses sticking out of its pocket, the pink shirt that was ripped open, the suit, the loose hair; The sickening amalgamation of two very different people. It wasn’t until Lena’s eyes travelled back up to the woman’s face, however, that an unquestionable certainty in her life completely shattered. Not until she looked back into Supergirl’s eyes. Kara’s eyes. Those eyes that were giving her a pleading look, begging her to say something.

Because those eyes were still blue. Those eyes were still beautiful.

But they’d never been honest… had they?

 

“Get out…”

Lena turned around, seeing Kara’s face completely drop before she did, and closed her eyes tightly, as if she could erase the image from her memory that way.

“No…” Lena flinched at Kara’s pleading tone, but she didn’t turn around “no, please… you… you need to let me explain… I-”

“Just get out...” Lena forced out softly, as she took a few steps away.

“But… you don’t understand, I-”

“I TRUSTED YOU!!”

Lena spun around, facing that horrible sight once again, with her anger, her crushing sadness and the sense of betrayal all fighting for the upper hand. Kara was gaping at her, mouth slightly open and her bottom lip quivering, looking heartbroken. Somehow, the image made Lena’s anger gain control, because _she_ had been lied to. _She_ had been deceived. _She_ was the one who got to be heartbroken. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE DIFFERENT!!” she shouted, fighting the lump in her throat. “YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO LIE TO ME, JUST TO GET SOMETHING FROM ME!!”

“Lena, I- I never-”

“YOU WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO TURN OUT TO BE SOMEONE ELSE!! But you’re just like them…” Lena said weakly, her voice breaking. “You’re just like mother… You’re just like Lex…”

“Lena, that’s- that’s not fair, I-”

“Was it all just a lie?” Lena asked, her voice still unsteady but her eyes steeling. “Was our whole friendship just an excuse to keep an eye on the new Luthor in town?”

“Of course not…” Kara’s voice cracked and she was still looking horrified, as if _she_ was the one who had just had the one certainty in her life been taken away from her. “You _are_ my friend, Lena, it- it’s just…” she stepped closer to her, looking like she could start crying any second and Lena hated that it still got to her. She should know better. She shouldn’t have held out hope for her mother, either. And this was just the same. “I have to be careful who I tell… most- most people that know about me found out through someone else, I mean… the- the only person I ever told because I wanted to was Winn and I-”

“No…”

Lena winced at the sound of her own voice, realising her mask had dropped and that she was staring back at Supergirl with a similar horrified expression. Because another certainty in her life had just been destroyed…

“…Winn knows?”

“Well, yes, he- he was my closest friend back then and-”

Lena couldn’t stop herself from whimpering, holding her hands over her face and stepping further away from the deceitful superhero. Of course it was all too good to be true. Of course she didn’t just magically gain two friends with no strings attached. She should have known better. This wasn’t the first time someone had played her like a fool. She should have known better…

“But you’re my best friend and I-”

“Just stop lying, Kara…” Lena forced out weakly in a trembling voice, still covering her eyes with one hand and the other on her hip, “…or Supergirl, or whatever your name really is.” She lowered her hand and turned away from the alien woman, forcing back her tears with all her might. “Just leave… please just leave…”

“No… no, I can’t…” Kara sounded like she was crying now, but Lena refused to turn back around. Despite the sounds still being agonising to hear. Despite the idea of Kara being in tears still tugging at her heart. She really needed to learn to stop caring about people who didn’t deserve it…

“…I can’t just… you mean too much to me, Lena…”

It was like listening to her mother, Lena thought bitterly. “Just get out…”

“Please, Lena-”

“GET OUT!!”

Lena closed her eyes tightly, struggling to keep her composure despite not even facing the other woman. She heard a sob coming from behind her… and then there was a sudden gust of wind. She quickly turned around, finding the room empty and one of her windows open. Lena finally felt the tears escaping her eyes, looking at where her friend had just been standing. The friend she thought she’d lost in an explosion not too long ago. The friend, she now realised, she’d never really had in the first place…

 

 

* * *

 

 

Lena screamed in frustration.

There was a loud crashing sound as a screwdriver flew across the lab and broke about half the empty glass containers on the table in a corner of the room. Lena groaned and held her head in her hands. She had managed to remain distracted for most of the day. Had managed to keep her mind from yesterday’s explosion and the horrible reveal that had followed it. There’d been plenty to focus on: Arguing with the government official to convince him to keep the building in use while they repaired the top floor, her office being relocated to the second floor, not to mention personally supervising the extraction of her safe (which was thankfully still intact and now sat in a corner of her private lab). After that she’d spent her time down here, trying to recreate Rhea’s transmatter portal, adjusting the formula to make it work even without the alien element. She’d even gone as far as to build a small version of the portal, shaped like the frame of a door, testing the potential power surge it might contain. Unfortunately she wasn’t getting anywhere. Whatever human elements she tried, the technology would simply not be able to sustain the portal’s energy. In all likelihood, the whole thing would just explode within minutes. So instead, she’d tried breaking into the Daxam Drive again. Which went so well, she’d ended up throwing her screwdriver across the lab.

And now it was time for lunch. A time that was usually reserved for a bubbly blonde, a lot of laughter and nervous excitement, and her mind refused to stay distracted any longer. She had to forget about it, though. She had to get over it. She couldn’t keep wishing none of it had ever happened. So Lena sighed as she got up, not even bothering to clean up since she would probably go straight back to the seemingly impossible tasks once she returned, and moved towards the narrow stairwell. She went up the steps and exited her underground private lab, marching through the poorly lit corridor that lead back to the lobby. She had to pause for a man walking past with a wheelbarrow full of rubble; her top floor still being cleaned up. As she exited her building and tried to come up with a nearby place to eat she’d never been to with Kara, her phone suddenly rang. She took it out of her coat, but froze when she saw who was calling her. It was Winn…

Lena’s eyes went cold. She felt her anger come back again and she continued walking, aggressively tapping the button to respond and putting the device to her ear.

“Hey! Lena! I heard about the bomb in your office, that must have been scary… Good thing Supergirl was there, huh?” Lena clenched her jaw, her anger intensifying. “By the way, did you see Kara today? She kind of went off the grid and Alex is starting to freak out-”

“You lied to me” Lena said as evenly as she could.

“I- you- what?”

“You lied to me,” Lena reiterated, anger slipping into her voice. “You were supposed to be my friend and then you go and keep a secret like that from me?”

The other end went silent for a moment, Winn apparently in shock, before he found his voice again: “Okay… so… don’t take this the wrong way, but… I’m gonna need you to be more specific.”

Lena’s anger spilled over. “I’m talking about the superhero that works at CatCo, you idiot!! I’m talking about your friend having a secret identity!! And you thinking it was okay to keep me in the dark!!”

“Now- now, hey… that- that’s not fair” Winn stammered. “You said yourself that everyone’s entitled to their secrets, remember? At- at the gala, you- you definitely said that.” Lena scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. “I mean, it’s- it’s not my secret to tell, anyway,” Winn continued, “if- if I just went around telling everyone I know that James is The Guardian, then he-”

“JAMES IS THE GUARDIAN?!”

The other end went silent for a moment again. “Okay, I- I’m really confused now…”

“I’m talking about Kara!!” Lena hissed. “About Kara flying around in a cape and pretending to be my friend!!”

“Oh, that!” Winn actually laughed, infuriating Lena even more. “Well, it’s about time she told you! Does that mean we can finally tell her we’re fr- wait a minute…” another moment of silence passed. “What do you mean, she… Lena, you don’t actually think she _pretends_ to be your friend, do you?!”

“Well, you two obviously have a lot in common” Lena said bitterly.

“No!! That’s not-”

“Don’t call me again, Winn. Ever.”

Lena hung up before the man had a chance to respond. Before he had the chance to pepper her with more lies and fairy tales about friendship. She sat down in a chair on the patio of some restaurant she was walking by, not even bothering to check if they actually served lunch. She ticked her nails on the small table in front of her while staring off into the distance. It was all painfully ironic, if you thought about it. How many times had she thought of Winn as gullible? And now it turned out that _she_ was the gullible one. On top of all the anger and disappointment, Lena now felt something she’d rarely felt in her life: She felt stupid.

_‘I flew here… on a bus.’_

Stupid…

_‘I was… getting coffee with Kara Danvers when you called.’_

So stupid…

_‘I may have… asked Supergirl to stop by.’_

So unbelievably stupid…

Lena snapped her head up at the sound of someone sighing very loudly. She was just in time to see a man sitting down in the chair on the other side of the small table. The broad-shouldered young man didn’t even look at her, letting his hand go through his short, light brown hair and sighing again, looking completely despondent, his eyes on the floor. “Can I help you?” Lena said with ice in her voice, struggling not to take out her anger on an innocent bystander.

The man looked up at her and blinked several times, seemingly taken aback. “Are you… are you talking to me?”

Lena raised an eyebrow at him. “Do you see anyone else sitting at this table?”

The man inhaled sharply with surprise, straightening up, before tumbling backwards and disappearing from Lena’s sight. She sighed and took out her phone, putting it to her ear because she realised what was happening. The man had made no noise on impact and as she peered over the edge over the table, she noticed the chair was still standing, meaning the man had fallen straight through it. She’d just met another ghost. Great. She quickly glanced around, grateful that the terrace was mostly empty.

“You- you can-” the man stammered as he scrambled to his feet, “you can see me, you’re- you’re real-”

“Yes, I can see you” Lena said calmly, “I’m also not in a great mood, so how about you tell me your name and why you’re still here, so I can get this over with.”

“You- get this- right… right…” the man cleared his throat, sitting back down in the chair. “My name is Harold Jackson. What’s, uh… what’s your name?”

Lena gave him an annoyed look. “I’m Lena Luthor.” The man smiled nervously and extended his hand across the table. Lena sighed, giving him a pointed look. “I can’t shake thin air, Harold.”

“Oh… right…” The man quickly retracted his hand, looking self-conscious.

“So,” Lena started, “what is your problem, Harold?”

“You mean besides being dead?” The man chuckled, but quickly stopped after seeing Lena’s glare. “Well, my- my wife needs help. Sort of…” He shifted in his seat, leaning his forearms on the table. “I died just a few days ago, it was- it was during the invasion. But…” the man sighed deeply “…we didn’t really have many savings. I was the only one who worked. My family runs a building firm; The Jacksons Constructions, I guess you probably know it.” Lena silently shook her head. “Wha- really? I mean we’re pretty well-known around he- you know what, never mind.” He shook his head, refocusing on his story. “Angie, my wife, she- she didn’t have a job and now she’s trying to find one, but… she’ll probably have to move out of our apartment...”

“So…” Lena started, while frowning, “…she needs a place to stay?”

“No, no, that’s not the problem. It’s just that… well… I sort of got myself a life insurance when my brother started having me handle the heavy machinery. Just to be safe, you know. But…” the man shifted uncomfortably in his chair, “…I didn’t really wanna tell Angie about it.”

Lena frowned in confusion. “Why not?”

“Well, it’s embarrassing,” Harold responded, as if it was obvious. “I didn’t want her to think I was scared or something. I’m- I’m not a wuss…” Lena sighed, trying her best to contain her exasperation. “But, yeah, the- the problem is that- if she gets another place, she won’t find the papers, ‘cause… I hid them under the floorboard.” Lena let out another sigh. What was it with people hiding important documents in stupid places?

“You’re telling me that _nobody_ knows about this insurance of yours?”

“Well… I actually told my brother about it.” Harold turned more serious now, almost sad. “But he and Angie- well my whole family actually… they don’t really like her.” Lena raised her eyebrows in disbelief, as the man just stared at his hands. “Even when we started dating, they didn’t really want her around, but when we got engaged it got a lot worse. They were all like: ‘What do you mean you’re getting married?’ and ‘Who in their right mind gets married at 25?’ and ‘What did that bitch do to you?’” He scoffed before shaking his head. “I really doubt he’ll tell her anytime soon. I mean, it’s been three days and he still hasn’t done it, so…” he lifted his head, giving Lena an uncertain look, “…I mean… it could be really easy. Our apartment is just around the corner… and Angie just left for a job interview. We could, like… break in and leave the insurance papers on the table and get right out again. I mean, I- I know that’s kind of dangerous for you, but-”

“Fine.”

Lena grabbed her purse from the table and stood up, the man doing the same while giving her an incredulous look. “Rea- really? You’ll do that for her? That is-”

“Just lead the way, Harold.”

“Right… yes, of course.” The man smiled widely before moving past her and walking ahead on the sidewalk, Lena following closely. She was very well aware of what was going on right now. She knew that she was currently engaging in self-destructive behaviour. She realised that this was not the best way to channel her anger, but she needed _something_. She needed to at least have _something_ to keep her mind from wandering back to the people that had deceived her. So Lena followed Harold all the way to the man’s building, realising very well that she could be completely screwed if she got caught. As they went past the entrance and up the stairs, however, Lena was having a hard time getting herself to really care about the danger at this point; her anger seemingly fuelling her adrenaline. They went into a corridor on the third floor, Lena noticing that the building wasn’t all that big, although it still looked a lot nicer than where Winn lived. _Damn it! Now she was thinking about them again…_

“Right, so… it’s this one” Harold stated, motioning towards the door they’d stopped in front of. “I don’t suppose you left a key under the mat, or something?” Lena asked while putting her phone away. “No!” the man exclaimed with a serious expression. “That’s really not safe! I mean really, that’s just irresponsible.” Lena huffed out a breath.

“But hiding your life insurance under a floorboard isn’t?”

“Well… I wasn’t supposed to need it…” Harold grumbled.

“Alright, well…” Lena started rummaging through the pockets of her coat, finding nothing that could be used to pry open a lock. As she felt the pockets of her pants, however, she felt something there. Lena reached in, pulling out a small screwdriver that she had put there after it wouldn’t fit on the Daxam Drive. “That could work…”

She looked to both sides, ensuring that the corridor was empty, then crouched down and started to fiddle with the lock as she tried to force it open. Harold looked down uncertainly at the scene. “Um… I don’t think you can get a lock open like that, Ms. Luthor.” Lena huffed, still trying to peer into the hole to see what she was doing. “Are you an expert on the matter, then?” she asked, perhaps with more sass than was necessary.

“Well no, but… most things James Bond does don’t actually work in real life.” He suddenly let out a low giggle. “I remember this one time after watching ‘Goldfinger’, I totally tried to-”

“Luthor…?!”

Lena froze, instantly recognising the voice and cursing her luck. She slowly got up and turned around, only to find Maggie stepping out of the apartment across the hall with a very confused frown on her face. Lena tried her best to keep the screwdriver behind her back and out of view. “What… what are you doing here?” the detective asked suspiciously. Lena swallowed nervously, because despite the wider population’s perceptions, Lena had never actually found herself breaking the law (not counting the occasional hacking, that is). Which is probably why her response wasn’t a very refined one.

“What are _you_ doing here?”

Maggie raised her eyebrows at her. _Smooth, Lena, real smooth._

“I live here,” Maggie said slowly while motioning to the apartment she’d just stepped out of, “are you… are you breaking in at Mrs. Jackson’s?” she asked incredulously. Lena darted her eyes to the side, where Harold looked to be frozen in place and with just about as many excuses at the ready as she had. “Look kid, I like you, but I’m still a cop and I can’t just ignore someone breaking the law in right in front of my door, so… you wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Lena was momentarily stunned. Did Maggie just call her a ‘kid’?! That was certainly a first. Even as the youngest attendant at MIT she’d always commanded respect from the older students. She could see why Sam didn’t like it…

“Luthor…?”

Lena sighed, realising there was no point in trying to come up with any sort of excuse. “Yes, I-” she cleared her throat, “I’m helping someone.” Maggie kept looking at her with raised eyebrows.

“So… you’re an accomplice?” Maggie asked, clearly still very confused by the situation.

“No, I…” Lena sighed, “…I’m _helping_ someone.” She gave Maggie a pointed look. “You know… like I helped your father?” Lena could see the exact moment the penny dropped.

“O… Oh!” Maggie’s eyes widened dramatically before she scanned the corridor. “Harold turned into a ghost?!” Lena just nodded, prompting the detective to shake her head in disbelief. “Damn, Luthor. What are the odds?! You actually helping the guy who lives across the hall!”

Lena just shrugged. “Microscopic” she said dryly. Maggie just laughed and shook her head again.

“Well, now that you’re here anyway,” Maggie said, turning more serious. “I actually need to ask you something. Did you see Kara today?” Lena’s heart constricted. She just couldn’t get away from it, could she? “She’s kind of… missing” Maggie continued. “No one seems to be able to get a hold of her. Alex called me earlier and I actually had to talk her out of sending a squad to your building to come and drag you away. Apparently she’s convinced that you had something to do with it.”

Lena scoffed, putting the screwdriver back in her pocket before she would start stabbing people with it. “Of course she does.”

“Oh, that’s the best friend, right?!”

Lena turned her head to the side, giving Harold a confused look. “Yeah! I see her here all the time” the man said. “Alex, I mean. I saw her quite a few times in the morning too, I think she spends more nights here than she does at her own place.” The man smiled happily at the detective. “Man, I’m telling you, friends like that are rare.” Lena kept gawking at the man. He couldn’t possibly be that dense, could he?

“Harold, they’re…” the man looked at her, still smiling stupidly. Lena shook her head. “…never mind.”

Lena turned her head back, noticing that Maggie was still looking at her and waiting for an answer. “No,” Lena said, trying to keep her temper under control, “I didn’t see Kara today. We’re not…" Lena hesitated "... talking right now.”

“Get out of here!”  

Lena frowned, as Maggie actually laughed and slapped her knee. “You two saps actually had a fight!?” Lena pursed her lips, wishing they could be talking about anything else right now. For example; she had just been about to commit a crime, that was a nice conversation topic, wasn’t it?

“What did you do!? Oh! Did you take one of her potstickers?! Man, I remember when I did that on my first game night! I’m telling you, if looks could kill I wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

“ _I_ didn’t do anything!” Lena said, anger slipping into her voice. “It’s just… she’s not the person I thought she was.” Lena looked at the floor, sadness suddenly trying to drag her down. When did her emotions start acting like a yo-yo? “She lied to me… all this time…”

“Oh…” Lena looked up, understanding showing on Maggie’s face.  “So she finally told you, huh?”

Lena frowned at her, because they couldn’t possibly be thinking of the same thing. “Told me what?” she asked warily.

“Well, you know… that she’s Supergirl.”

There was a loud gasp, as Harold’s eyes turned the size of bowling balls while gaping at this discovery. Neither woman paid attention to him, Maggie still looking at Lena, who was shaking her head while once again trying to control her anger. “Honestly… does everybody know?! Am I literally the only person she didn’t tell?!”

Maggie actually snickered and Lena was starting to fume inside. “She didn’t have to _tell_ me, Luthor, I’m a smart cookie.” Maggie crossed her arms and gave her a curious look. “I have to say, I’m kinda surprised. I actually thought you’d have already figured it out by now. I mean… they’re just glasses…”

“They’re not just glasses!!”

Maggie looked surprised at the outburst, Lena also crossing her arms and finally letting out some of her frustration. “She’s an entirely different person!! Supergirl never told me off because I was working late! Supergirl doesn’t light up when there’s food around, or puppies, or- or-” Lena faltered and felt sadness slipping back in, the thoughts about Kara still messing with her emotions. “There’s the fumbling, and the stammering and the nervousness and- and- it’s all just a lie… she’s- she’s not real…”

“Oh, I get it.” Maggie’s expression softened as she gave her a small smile. “You think that she pretends to be someone she’s not, when she takes off the suit.”

“Well, clearly she does.”

“No, Lena…” Maggie uncrossed her arms as she stepped closer while giving her a look that Lena thought was way too close to pity “…that’s not it. Do you think that when I’m standing here talking to you, I’m acting the same way as when I’m arresting someone? What Kara does is the same thing I do, it’s the same thing Alex does, hell…” she let out a small laugh “…it’s the same thing you do. Whether you’re a cop, or an agent, or a superhero or,” she gestured at Lena, “a CEO… you’re a figure of authority. You have to be firm, and more decisive than you would be out of your uniform. I mean… you don’t act the same way around Kara as you do in your boardroom either, do you?”

“Well, no, but…” Lena paused, thinking the words over while something very strange was happening. She was actually calming down… Her emotions seemed to be finally giving her a break, as Maggie had just given her something that no one else had been able to: a reasonable doubt. Lena had learned a long time ago to never hope for the best. To expect the worst, because that’s what would probably happen anyway. There was one person who’d been starting to change that, however. And if there was a possibility… If there was even the slightest chance that Kara Danvers wasn’t just the mask that National City’s resident hero put on when she wanted to take a break… then maybe she should consider it. But even then…

“But still…” Lena muttered weakly, “she was never honest… she still lied to me…”

Maggie sighed and looked at her intently. “Okay, Luthor,” she crossed her arms again, “I’m gonna tell you something and you’re probably not going to like it. But I highly doubt that Winn has the guts to say it, so I will.” Lena gave the woman a questioning look, as Maggie seemed to be turning more serious. “You’re being a hypocrite.”

Lena’s eyes steeled as she slipped into one of her best glares. “Excuse me?!”

“You heard me” Maggie responded calmly while giving her a stern look, apparently unaffected by Lena’s scorching gaze. “I remember the look on your face when I was about to call Kara in your office. I remember you were willing to tell _me_ , a complete stranger, your deepest secret just so you wouldn’t have to tell Kara. You were scared, weren’t you?” Lena pursed her lips and looked to the side. “You were scared of how she might react _._ ” _Seriously, were all detectives required to develop mind-reading skills nowadays?_ “You were scared that she wouldn’t treat you the same anymore. Is it really that crazy... I mean… is it really so hard to believe that Kara was just as scared to tell you _her_ secret, for the exact same reasons?”

Lena opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to come up with a response. It felt wrong, being called out for her behaviour after what the alien woman had pulled. But what if it was true? What if it wasn’t all a lie? Lena swallowed, realising there was no formula to calculate the possibilities of a person’s personality being genuine. I mean, obviously it was possible to pretend to be someone you’re not; just look at her mother. How many times had her mother pretended to care about her? In any other situation, Kara would have been the perfect example of the other side of the spectrum; the example of how people could be completely honest and genuine. But now she wasn’t even sure if Kara was all that… she certainly hadn’t always been honest… Lena rubbed her temple, all this confusion starting to give her a headache.

“I’m not trying to judge you here, Lena.” Maggie gave her an understanding smile. “It’s sometimes harder to open up to your friends, than it is to anybody else…” the detective paused, giving her a wide grin with a mischievous glint in her eyes “…especially if you’d like them to be more than just friends.”

Lena frowned at the implication, the woman in front of her still giving her a dimpled grin. “I’m not gay” she said stiffly. Maggie just snorted, bringing a hand up to her mouth. Lena raised an eyebrow at her in annoyance. “Is that funny?”

“No, no… I’m sorry, it’s just…” Maggie lowered her hand, clearly still amused, “you just reminded me of the last person who told me that.”

“Really?” Lena drawled. “And who was that?”

“My girlfriend.”

Lena’s cheeks turned red, while Maggie lifted her arm and showed off the back of her hand where a ring was on display. “Well… she’s my fiancée now.”

“You… you and Alex got engaged?” Lena looked on as the detective nodded her head in uncharacteristically shy fashion. “Well, um… congratulations.”

“Ooooooh…”

Lena had almost forgotten that Harold was still there. But now she looked to the side, finding the man gaping at the ring on Maggie’s finger. “…yeah, that… that explains a lot” he muttered weakly.

“Just don’t tell anyone yet, okay?” Maggie said as Lena turned her head back. “Alex says she wants to wait for the right time to tell Kara. Like there’s ever a right time for this stuff…” Maggie chuckled, “so anyway, no spilling on the engagement, even after you and little Danvers make up.” The corners of her mouth briefly twitched up. “Or make out… whichever comes first.”

Lena opened her mouth to protest. She wanted to protest the assumption that she would ever forgive Kara. Wanted to say that she didn’t know if she ever wanted to see her again. But she stopped herself. She stopped herself, because even just considering that… considering the possibility of never seeing Kara again… it seemed unthinkable…

“So, um… do you need a hand or something? You know, with helping Harold?”

Lena got pulled out of her musings and gave the detective a surprised look. “You would… help me break into someone’s apartment?”

“Well, yeah, obviously” Maggie said, seeming surprised that Lena wasn’t expecting that. “I told you, didn’t I? Anything you need, you just have to ask. I still owe you one.”

“Well… alright… yes, I- I could use your help. Thank you…” Lena gave a small smile as she hesitantly stepped to the side and looked back at the door. “So… do they teach you how to pick locks at the police academy?” Lena asked hopefully. Maggie just gave her a smug grin before stepping up to the door.

“Not exactly…”

Maggie suddenly brought her leg up, swiftly kicking the door in, which flew open with a loud thud. Lena swallowed.

“Yeah, that… that works too.”

Maggie stepped inside, followed by a slightly stunned Lena and Harold, who let out an impressed whistle. They entered the living room, the apartment being fairly small but with a cosy feel to it. “Well, we’re in. What’s next, Luthor?” Maggie asked, looking around with her hands on her hips. Lena turned to Harold. “So, um… the papers?” she asked.

“Right. Yes… This way.”

The man stepped towards the door on the other end of the room and Lena followed. The man stepped right through, while Lena had to actually open the door before stepping inside as well. She realised she found herself in the couple’s bedroom, as Harold crouched down beside the bed and started counting. “… 2… 3… There!” The man motioned Lena to come closer. Lena sighed as she got on her knees beside the bed and looked at what the man was pointing at. “That’s the one!”

Lena reached out towards the floorboard the man indicated and, sure enough, as she applied pressure on one end of it, the other side popped up. She slid her other hand into the opening and blindly grasped what was there. What she ended up pulling out was a messy folder, the papers sticking out and clearly unorganised, but on the front there was a logo and the name of the insurance company: Resistance Insurance Programs.

Lena took the folder and got up from the floor, before making her way back to the living room. She deposited it on the table, making sure Angie wouldn’t be able to miss it, as Maggie stepped closer and took a look at it. “Life insurance, huh? And here I thought this was gonna be difficult or something.” Maggie let out a short chuckle.

“Yes, well, even I can catch a break sometimes.”

“Um, Ms. Luthor…”

Lena looked to the side, where Harold was fidgeting nervously while throwing a glance at the door of the apartment. “Could you, um… could you maybe ask Maggie to help Angie fix the lock when she gets home? I mean… just- just leaving the door in that state is not safe…”

Lena nodded, relaying the message to Maggie.

“Yeah, sure, no problem” Maggie said, looking approximately in Harold’s direction. “My aunt taught me to always clean up after myself, so…”

The man sighed before nodding his head. “Good, that’s good…” He seemed lost in thought for a moment, looking at the insurance papers on the table, when light slowly started seeping through his skin. As the light grew stronger, the man looked down at himself, seeming surprised. “Um, Ms. Luthor…” he spoke hesitantly, his voice echoing, “…is this- is this normal?” Lena laughed briefly, before responding; “Yes. Don’t worry Harold, this is what happens to everyone after I help them.”

The man held up his hand and looked at it, appearing fascinated by what was happening, while the light slowly started moving over his body. Lena looked on, as the man’s curious eyes disappeared behind the light before it merged together on his stomach. Lena kept watching the now almost familiar sight of the light slowly pulling apart and forming those glowing orbs of light. As always, they floated away from each other and hung in the air for a moment, then started to fade. Lena watched as the light kept dimming and dimming, until finally, the apparition of Harold Jackson was completely gone. Lena sighed, looking at the empty space in front of her. “Well, I’ve had harder cases…” she breathed out softly.

“You should tell me about those sometime.”

Lena looked to her left, where Maggie stepped up to her side, also looking at the empty space in front of them. “I mean it, Luthor. Whatever you decide to do about the whole… Kara situation… you can still ask me anything.”

Maggie turned her head to look at her, while Lena raised an eyebrow at the woman. “I thought we were even after you just broke into an apartment for me” she smirked.

“Pfft...” Maggie swatted her hand in a dismissive motion “…please, Luthor. I only kicked a door in. I already do that on a regular basis. About four times a week, actually.”

Lena couldn’t help snickering, but Maggie’s look turned more serious. “So… do you know yet?” she asked carefully. “If you’ll talk to Kara, I mean.”

Lena swallowed and looked at her shoes. She thought about the question. She thought about the warm hugs and the understanding looks. She thought about the lunches and the feeling of safety. She thought about the feeling of having the rug pulled out from under her by the last person she would have expected it from. She thought about the tears in Kara’s eyes and how they still got to her. She thought about the feeling of betrayal, so similar to the one she now automatically associated with her mother. She thought about the sweet, innocent reporter and the fearless, indestructible and not so perfect superhero. She thought about the merging of those two people she’d witnessed. And about the microscopic possibility that it hadn’t all been a lie.

Lena sighed and looked back up at the detective beside her.

 

“I don’t know…” she whispered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a silly reference and a pretty bad pun somewhere in this chapter. Can you tell me what they are?


	13. The Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Get it? The ghosts of Lena's past? It makes sense, I promise...
> 
> aka; The chapter that puts the 'trust', in 'In Family we Trust'

_July 10 th 2015_

_It was almost midnight and Lena panted heavily as she ran through the halls of the Luthor mansion. The corridors were poorly lit by the few lamps that were actually turned on, but Lena didn’t need the light to find her way. The young woman ran up the main staircase, breathing erratically as she sped towards the third floor. It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t possibly be true. There must have been a misunderstanding, probably some dangerous experiment gone wrong, but it couldn’t be true. There was no way that what they were all saying… that it was actually…_

_“LEX!!”_

_Lena ran past the corner of the hallway, almost tripping on the expensive carpet, and ran towards the door of her brother’s room, pushing it open with force. “LEX, WHERE AR-”_

_Lena froze up, seeing her mother straightening and turning around to give her a stern frown and a cold glare. “I thought it to be obvious,” the older woman sneered, “but clearly I need to remind you that the rule about not running through the halls still applies when you’re all grown up.” Lillian Luthor turned back to the bed, apparently folding Lex’s shirts that were scattered all around his room, the majority sticking out of a half packed suitcase. “Wh- what happened?!” Lena stammered. “Wh- where is Lex?!”_

_Lillian sighed, placing one of the shirts on a neat pile on the bed. “I’m afraid they took him away” she stated calmly, although bitterness slipped into her voice. “The police got here shortly after I did.”_

_“N- no… no, they can’t…” Lena kept opening and closing her mouth, looking around the room, as if she would find an alternate version of reality lying around somewhere. “It can’t be true…” Lena said weakly, “he… he would never kill innocent people, that’s- that’s not who he is… whatever he thinks about Superman, he-”_

_“It doesn’t matter” Lillian stated coolly, still folding Lex’s shirts. “Whatever your brother did or did not do, the police obviously think he’s guilty of something. Otherwise they wouldn’t have dragged him away just now.” Lillian paused her movements, letting out a measured breath, before resuming her unusual tidying. “I suppose I’ll have to step in at LuthorCorp. Don’t be surprised if they reach out to you as well… Apparently Lex spoke very highly of you at work.”_

_Lena was standing, petrified, her head spinning at the notion that her brother might be a mass murderer. She shook her head, looking incredulously at the figure of her mother as she kept doing chores she usually had the maids do, while still not facing her daughter. “How can you just stand there?!” Lena exclaimed, her voice unsteady. “How can you be so calm?!”_

_Lillian Luthor suddenly stopped her movements. She straightened up and turned back around, fixing Lena with an unusually cold look, even by her standards. She stepped up to her and spoke in a stern, almost menacing voice; “We are Luthor women, Lena…” she looked at her daughter intently, almost as if she was trying to pierce through her daughter’s pupils with her cold stare and Lena could feel the scars on her back start to tingle. “…and whether you like it or not… we will keep our poise and our dignity until the very end.” With that, she turned back around, going back to folding Lex’s shirts as if nothing had just happened, and ignoring Lena again, who was looking on in shock at her mother’s lack of emotion. Even at a time like this._

_Lena didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure how to deal with what was happening or with what her brother could possibly have done. She turned to the side, half thinking that she should perhaps just leave and find out what precinct Lex was being held at, but she stopped when she noticed something. She stepped towards the dresser, noticing the framed picture standing on top of it. Lena swallowed as she came to a stop and looked at the smiling faces of herself and her brother. They were holding surfboards, Lex in his swimming shorts and Lena in her one-piece, neither having ever ridden a wave before in their lives. Lena had no idea that he’d actually had it framed. That silly picture… taken in Hawaii just three weeks ago, where they’d celebrated Lena’s 23 rd birthday. She picked up the picture and closed her eyes, pressing it to her chest. _

_No, it was not possible… Lex might have an unhealthy obsession with Superman, and some less than fortunate political ideas. But he was still her brother. He was the same man that had dropped his duties as the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, to take his little sister for a surfing weekend. He was the same brother that had held her tightly at her father’s funeral. The same brother that would comfort her when Lillian’s words pierced a little too deep, or when the old leather belt swung a little too hard. No… it was simply not possible. And she would get to the bottom of it._

_Lena breathed out heavily and opened her eyes, now feeling more determined. She stepped swiftly towards the door before turning around, noticing her mother still methodically tidying up the room. She went to open her mouth. But she realised… she had nothing left to say to her. Lena sighed as she stepped out of the room and started making her way back towards the ground floor of the Luthor mansion; all the while tightly clutching the framed picture of two siblings smiling happily._

_She would keep it, eventually. She would keep it, even after finding out it was all true that same night. She would keep it, even after the trial. Even after seeing her brother in court, madly proclaiming his actions to be for the good of mankind and defining the victims as ‘casualties of war’. She would keep it, even after moving to National City, where she was effectively trying to leave all that behind. She didn’t just keep it for sentimental reasons, though. She didn’t just keep it in order to have an image close by, that portrayed Lex as the caring older brother that he once was. She also kept it as a reminder… As a reminder that however unfairly her mother treated her, she was still right: Everyone really does lie, in some way or another. Lena had already had years of practice in doubting everyone and everything around her, but on this day… on the day that her brother got dragged out of his mansion by the police… on the day that the framed picture in her hands, was all that she had left of the Lex Luthor she once knew… she made a conscious decision. She made the decision to accept what her mother had been trying to teach her all along;_

_Everybody lies. You shouldn’t trust anyone… not even your family._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

May 16th 2017

 

The streets of National City were full of life, as about half the city’s inhabitants were making their way back to work from their lunch breaks. The woman walking down Lasseter Street, however, had been too busy breaking into an apartment to actually eat something. Lena sighed, thinking of the woman who would usually scold her for her bad eating habits. Maggie hadn’t pressed any further on the Kara situation. She’d just given her an understanding look, before she’d turned her attention to the door and had started assessing the damage done to the lock. Turns out that this operation had done quite the opposite of keeping her mind of things. Even after saying goodbye to Maggie. Even as she’d exited the building where Harold Jackson had lived, she couldn’t shake the thoughts anymore. Lena walked through the streets of National City, heading back towards her office on autopilot, while Maggie’s words kept swirling through her head. On the surface, the explanation had seemed obvious. A Super deceiving a Luthor… that was all the information one would need to know what was going on, right? But now that there was an alternative, now that Maggie had planted that seed… it wouldn’t let go of her.

Suddenly Lena’s phone buzzed in her pocket, startling her from her thoughts. She huffed out a breath, taking out the device and noticing that it was Winn again. Winn, who had always offered a hand. Winn, who wouldn’t be able to trick someone even if he wanted to. Winn, who had always helped her and never asked for anything in return. Her thumb hovered over the red button but her seed of doubt was growing, because whatever Kara had or hadn’t been honest about, it didn’t mean that Winn had set out to fool her… Not necessarily… Lena’s thumb slowly moved over, tapping the button to respond.

“Winn-”

“Don’t hang up!!” Winn exclaimed, sounding panicked. “I know you’re mad, but like I said it’s not my secret to tell!! Well, neither of those were, but-”

“Winn, I-”

“-but I really wanted to tell you, I swear!! If I could have, I would’ve talked to Kara about it, but you didn’t want her to know we were friends, so-”

“Winn, just listen-”

“-so I couldn’t do that, but I swear I didn’t mean to lie to you and WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘PRETENDING TO BE YOUR FRIEND’? I _AM_ YOUR FRIEND, AND IT’S NOT COOL TO SAY THAT, AND MY FEELINGS ARE REALLY HURT RIGHT NOW-”

“Winn!!”

The man breathed out loudly, finally ending his rant.

“It’s… it’s okay Winn. I mean it’s not, but…” Lena sighed, pausing at a crosswalk, “…I might have… slightly overreacted.” Winn let out a relieved breath, as Lena crossed the road. “I’m just really mad at Kara and… I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Even if you were keeping her secret…” Lena swallowed, forcing her mind to stay away from Kara for now. “Can you just… can you promise me something?”

“Well… yeah! Of course, anything!”

“Don’t lie to me again.”

Winn audibly swallowed. “Yeah, I… I guess I can do that. Sure, I- I promise.”

“Good.” Lena smiled to herself, at least one of her friendships salvaged, as she turned a corner on the sidewalk. “So if you’ve got any more secrets you’re hiding from me, now would be a good time to spill them.” Lena smirked, expecting a quick reassurance and a good-humoured laugh. Instead the other end went deadly silent for a few seconds.

“Um…” Winn nervously cleared his throat “…okay. Well, in that case…” he took a deep breath and suddenly started talking at breakneck speed: “I don’t actually work for the FBI, and neither does Alex. That’s just the main cover story for a secret government organisation called the DEO, which is short for The Department of Extranormal Operations. We monitor alien life on earth and obviously we help Supergirl with her missions. That’s were Pam works too, by the way. Also, when I hacked L-Corp the first time I wasn’t just curious, I’d just heard that you were developing some dubious alien detection technology and I was worried about Kara, so I decided to check it out. Obviously now I know that you wouldn’t do anything shady, but I didn’t know you back then and I just knew that your last name was Luthor, so that was totally my bad.”

Lena opened her mouth, slightly taken off guard by the amount of information and not sure what to say, but Winn took a deep breath and kept barrelling on.

“And when I got arrested I didn’t tell you why, because I was embarrassed that my girlfriend set me up as a part of a heist to get her brother out of trouble. But I forgave her and we’re totally cool now! I just hacked L-Corp again a few hours ago, which I didn’t want to do but Alex made me, because she thought you had something to do with Kara going missing. And by the way, she was real suspicious about the fact that your office doesn’t have security cameras. James is The Guardian, but I sorta already told you that, and I don’t know if this counts as a secret, but when I left your office after we fixed that cube thing I took a few of your pens, because here at the DEO they all seem to have massive egos that makes everyone think they’re too good to go and buy utensils for the office!”

Lena had stopped walking, standing right in front of the entrance to her building and blinking a few times while trying to process everything. “Wow, that- that is…”

“Also, I told James you can see ghosts.”

Lena’s insides froze. “YOU DID WHAT?!!”

“I’m sorry!! He backed me into a corner, alright?!! But he was really cool about it and he actually cried when I told him about Jimmy! He wanted to thank you himself, but I told him not to, because I said that you would totally kill me if you found out, but please don’t do that, okay?!”

Lena huffed out a breath, forcing her legs to move again as she stepped through the revolving doors, trying to get over her shock. “And to think I almost wasn’t mad at you anymore” she huffed out incredulously.

“I know, I know!! But James is my friend and he isn’t all suspicious about you anymore, so that is good, right?” Winn said pleadingly. “By the way, not to make you even angrier or anything, but I would like to point out that me not telling you about the whole Supergirl thing was just me being a good friend to Kara. Like not telling the ghost thing to people was me being a good friend to you. But I’m still your friend!! And- you know… Kara is too. She never pretended. Neither of us did…”

Lena swallowed as she walked into her building, wanting to believe him. She wanted nothing more than all of it to be true. But could she really trust her anymore?

“Oh, by the way, you’ll be happy to know we found Kara.”

Lena cursed her fluttering heart, it clearly not getting the message about still being on the fence about the alien woman.

“Turns out she was just in Metropolis. Clark called Alex about half an hour ago.”

“Clark? You mean Clark Kent?”

“Yeah… Oh! That reminds me; Clark Kent is Superman.” Lena choked on air, coughing loudly as she walked past a frowning Titus and into her elevator. “Just pleeease don’t tell him I told you that. He’s kind of my hero, and I don’t want him to think I’m irresponsible or anything.” He nervously cleared his throat. “So, yeah… Kara is alright and… I’m sure she’d want to talk to you… I mean, she was always your friend and I’m sure she still wants to be. Just like I still want to be your G-DAWG!”

As the elevator doors closed, Lena supressed a smirk and closed her eyes. She knew she should probably still be mad at him. The fact that there was now yet _another_ person who knew about her secret, seemed like reason enough to yell at the man for about two hours. But on the other hand… he’d just about spilled every secret under the sun to her… and she couldn’t stop her lips from twitching dangerously close to a full smile. She let the silence hang in the air for a while, before curiosity got the best of her. “Fine…” Lena huffed out in defeat, “…go ahead.”

“Your Grand-Deputy Assisting With Ghosts!”

Lena actually laughed, while shaking her head. “I’ll give you points for creativity this time, but there is no universe in which I am calling you my G-DAWG.”

“You never know! Maybe we should go and check them sometime!”

“Check what?”

“Alternate universes!”

Lena frowned. “That… that’s a joke, right?”

“Oh, wait, I forgot to mention that; The multiverse theory is real. There are alternate universes and we know some people on Earth-1 who can jump between them.”

The elevator dinged as it stopped on the second floor but Lena didn’t really notice; her head spinning at what Winn had just said. Alternate universes were real?! Interdimensional travel was not only possible but already existed?! And someone not named Lena Luthor had invented it?! Or what if… an _alternate version of herself_ had invented it?! HOLY FU-

“So, anyway, I really think it’s time we settled on a sidekick name, ‘cause this is getting ri-”

“Whoa, whoa, back up!” Lena exclaimed, remembering to step out of the elevator. “You can’t just drop a bomb like that and just move on! How different are these universes?! How many of them did you see?! Did we try to replicate this technology to jump from one universe to another?! What are-”

Lena stopped in her tracks, a few feet away from her temporary office, as Jess had sped around her desk and was now standing in front of her, while motioning her to stop with a very nervous expression on her face. “I’m- I’m gonna have to call you back” Lena stammered, “but we are definitely not done talking about this.”

“Yeah, no, absolutely” Winn responded, sounding excited. “I’ll tell you everything I know!”

“Good. And… thank you” Lena said, her voice softening. “For telling me the truth. About everything.”

Win briefly chuckled. “Get used to it, buddy.”

Lena gave a small smile, saying goodbye before putting the phone away and focusing on Jess who was fidgeting nervously. “Is something wrong, Jess?”

“No, not… not really.” Jess nervously threw a glance at the door right behind her. “It’s just that… someone’s waiting for you in your office.” Lena raised her eyebrows and looked behind her at the small waiting area across from Jess’s desk. “Were the humble seats of the second floor not good enough for them?” she chuckled while turning back towards her assistant.

“No, no, it’s- it’s just that…” Jess sighed, giving Lena an uncertain look, “…it’s Ms. Danvers.”

Lena frowned at the woman. “I take it that it’s not an Alex Danvers we’re talking about?”

“No, it’s… Ms. Kara Danvers.”

Lena let out a measured breath and gave her assistant a stern look, trying to convince her heart that Kara being just a few feet away was _not_ a good excuse to start beating that fast. “I thought I told you that she wasn’t to have access to me anymore.”

“Yes, I- I know, but…” Jess gave her a pleading look, still appearing to be nervous. “She- she seemed really upset. Like, ready to burst into tears at any moment level upset. I mean, I- I don’t know what happened, but… just- just yesterday you were hysterical at the thought of something happening to her…”

“I- I don’t-” Lena stuttered, “‘hysterical’ is not exactly how I’d-”

“…and she obviously cares about you too. I mean, I- I know, Ms. Luthor… I have a front row seat to how happy you are whenever she’s around.” Lena looked to the side, embarrassed at how transparent she was apparently getting these days. “I- I know it’s not my place to interfere, but… she just wants to talk… and…” Jess looked down at  her fidgeting hands, “…you don’t really want to lose her… do you?”

Lena swallowed, her resolve slowly crumbling. She should probably feel annoyed at all the pressure that people were putting on her to give Kara a chance to explain herself. Especially since Jess didn’t have a clue on what was actually going on. But her doubt was now of considerable size and she wanted it all so badly to be true. But she also knew that it could all be wishful thinking. And she was still scared that she was being messed with. Still scared that she would have to look into those formerly so honest eyes and expect the worst. That she would have to expect to see someone she didn’t know, looking back through a familiar face…

“It’s not about what I want, Jess,” Lena sighed as she rubbed her temple, “it’s all… complicated.” She clasped her hands together as she looked at the door to her temporary office. “Besides… I’ve dealt with losing people before… I’ve survived until now… so it’s not-”

“Ms. Luthor!”

Lena looked back at her assistant, who was giving her a determined look and had stopped fidgeting. “Ms. Luthor, m- maybe…” she breathed in deeply, moving her hands behind her back and lifting her chin while looking Lena squarely in the eye “…maybe life should be about more than just surviving.” Lena felt her arguments slip away, her eyes fluttering as she looked back at the door behind Jess. “Don’t we deserve better than that?” her assistant asked urgently. Lena swallowed, not taking her eyes of the door, as her last piece of resistance ebbed away.

“Maybe we do…”

Jess nodded, before moving next to her. “Good. In that case…”

Jess suddenly nudged her towards the door, Lena stumbling forward and stopping herself just short of bumping into it. She paused for a moment, throwing an annoyed glance back at her assistant who just gave her an encouraging look, before taking a deep breath. Then, she slowly pressed the handle… and stepped inside.

The small office wasn’t even close to the imposing one she used to have upstairs. But it had a reasonably sized desk and it wasn’t in use, so she hadn’t had to throw anyone out of it, which was a bonus. There had been an appalling lack of alcoholic beverages at first, but that issue had thankfully been fixed; a brand new cabinet filled with all kinds of liquor standing in the corner. There was no couch though, which is probably why Kara was sitting in one of the visitor’s chairs across from the desk, her purse deposited on the floor. As Lena closed the door behind her, Kara snapped her head around and shot up from her seat.

“Hi” Kara uttered softly, sounding slightly breathless.

Lena swallowed, her heart insisting on its irregular patterns, as she put her purse down. “Your sister was worried about you” she said evenly, taking her coat off.

“Yeah… I- I just needed to be alone for a while and…” Kara swallowed as Lena picked up her bag and turned back around to face her “…this morning I figured some things out, so I had to go to Metropolis real quick.”

“Real quick?” Lena asked while frowning. “It’s on the other side of the country, how did you…”  She scoffed, remembering who she was talking to. “Right, of course.” She slowly walked over to her desk, putting the purse on top of it, before facing Kara. Now that she was standing this close, she could see that the woman’s eyes were red. She looked like she’d been crying all night. Her heart still refused to listen to reason, constricting painfully at the sight.

“I’m sorry” Kara suddenly said. “I… I realised that I didn’t even tell you that, but… I’m really sorry. I’m sorry for lying to you.”

Lena swallowed, ignoring her feelings and forcing herself to listen to her common sense. She gave Kara a scrutinising look. “I just want to know one thing” she said, folding her arms. She feared the answer, but this was what it was all about, after all.  “Which one of you is real?” she asked. “Is it Supergirl, or…” she gestured at Kara in general, “…this? Which one is the real you… and which one is fiction?”

Kara’s eyes widened in horror, as if Lena had just said something outlandish. “What?! You- you thought that I wasn’t… Lena…” Kara reached out to her but Lena recoiled, taking a step back and looking to the side while still keeping her arms crossed. Kara swallowed, looking hurt, but she retracted her hand and started fidgeting with her fingers.  “They’re- they’re both real,” Kara stammered, “I mean… they’re both a part of me. It’s just that… when I’m Supergirl, it’s- it’s like I don’t have to be so careful? I just… I don’t know, it’s- it’s like I’m Kara Zor-El again…”

Lena frowned at her. “Kara Zor-El?”

“Yes, that- that was my name. I mean it still is, but,” Kara huffed nervously while adjusting her glasses, prompting Lena’s heart to continue acting irrationally, “I guess at this point I’m as much of a Danvers as I am a member of the House of El. It’s- it’s hard to explain, but… in simple terms… Supergirl, that’s… that’s what I can do, but… Kara Danvers is who I am.” Kara looked up, giving her a hopeful look. Lena’s mind was at war with itself right now, one half reminding her of how her brother had kept up an innocent façade for years, while the other half was making no sense, just screaming Kara’s name over and over again.

“I know I should’ve told you sooner,” Kara continued in a pleading voice, “I could give you a whole list of reasons why I shouldn’t tell anymore people my secret; everyone I tell becomes a target, and if too many people know it’s harder to keep it contained, at least that’s what J’onn says, but…” she looked at Lena unsurely, “…but the truth is, Lena, I… I was selfish.” Lena raised her eyebrows at the statement, while Kara opened and closed her mouth a few times before finding her words. “Being Supergirl is a big responsibility. It takes up this huge part of my life and… the people around me understand, but…” Kara hesitated, giving Lena a tentative smile, “…with you it was different. With you, I… I never needed any powers to feel special. You always treated me like I was important, and- like it was okay to- to just be me.” Kara gave another attempt at a smile, despite her quivering lip. “Just plain old me…”

The emotional part of Lena’s mind was roaring with disapproval, urging her to tell the woman that she was anything but plain, that she was much more special like this than anyone who was silly enough to wear a cape, but Lena stayed silent, her doubts and her confusion still gnawing away at her.

“I just… I didn’t want you to look at me differently” Kara continued, her voice wavering. “I didn’t want you to hate me and… I’m sorry. It was selfish of me and I’m so sorry.”

Lena was painfully aware that the explanation sounded a lot like what Maggie had suggested it could be. That Kara had felt the same way about revealing her secret to Lena, as Lena did about revealing hers. But Lena’s past wouldn’t be ignored. As much evidence as there was to think that Kara Danvers was a real person and that it had _all_ been real, Lena’s 24 years of life experience were reminding her of the alternative. So, ironically, like the possibly fictional woman in front of her would do, Lena tried to be honest. Tried to put her fears and doubts into words.

“I was seven…” Lena started hesitantly, “I was seven years old, when mother first told me that no one ever tells the whole truth.” She swallowed as she looked into the blue eyes she’d once assumed to be honest. “I found it hard to believe, even at  that age. But as I grew older and mother kept teaching me to question everything and everyone around me… I eventually learned that she was right. Everyone has something to hide. Everyone lies, especially if they’re talking to someone whose last name is Luthor. It took me a long time to accept that… and it took me even longer to learn that it applied to my own mother as well.” Lena’s eyes steeled as her fingers balled into fists. “Everyone close to me, turned out to be pretending to be something they’re not,” Lena said bitterly. “Lex wasn’t just a concerned citizen, trying to monitor Superman’s powers. Lillian never actually cared about being my mother, unless it was convenient for her plans. Even Jack couldn’t see past my last name when it really mattered…” Lena breathed out, looking at her shoes for a moment. “I just thought that you were different” she said softly. “I don’t know why… but somehow I convinced myself that I’d never have to doubt you.” Kara opened her mouth to protest, but Lena didn’t let her. “I wish I could believe you, Kara” she said, her voice not so steady anymore. “I want nothing more than to believe that our friendship wasn’t just a lie, but I just don’t see it…” Lena swallowed, trying to contain her emotions, “…I don’t see how I’m ever going to trust you again.”

Kara had looked like she was on the verge of tears the whole time, but now she just nodded, seemingly regaining some composure. “Yes, I- I understand and… I thought that might be the problem, so,” she suddenly crouched down, reaching into her purse beside the desk before straightening up and shoving a small, rectangular box into Lena’s hands, “I got you something!”

Lena instinctively took a hold of the small black box. She looked at it for a moment, before involuntarily huffing out a small laugh and closing her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. That response… the seemingly random change of topic. It was just so… Kara. “Seriously?” Lena questioned, amusement unwillingly slipping into her voice, “Your answer to all that, is to give me a present?”

“Well, I- I wouldn’t call it a present,” Kara muttered nervously, as Lena went to open the lid of the surprisingly heavy box. “I mean you can keep it, obviously, it’s just- NO, DON’T OP-”

The warning was too late, as Lena opened the lid and looked at the contents of the small box, her eyes widening in horror. A sick green glow met her eyes, coming of a small piece of rock, and as Lena looked back up she found Kara staggering back while holding her stomach. Lena gasped, seeing the woman’s veins seemingly light up with a green glow while she doubled over further and her face contorted, obviously in pain. Lena darted her eyes back and forward between the glowing rock and Kara a few times, before she snapped out of her shock and shut the lid of the small lead box. Kara instantly breathed out a ragged breath, leaning on one of the visitor’s chairs to support herself, as the veins on her neck now swiftly lost their green shade. “Yeah, I- I probably should’ve warned you,” the alien woman muttered weakly, “that- that was my bad.” Lena made an indignant noise, still completely petrified at what had just happened.

“What the hell, Kara?!!”

Lena clasped the lead box tightly, trying to stop her hands from trembling. “Why on earth are you giving me Kryptonite?!!” she asked in an unsteady voice. Lena felt panic surging up inside of her at the current situation. Because the disturbing thoughts she’d been having since Jack had died had previously just been that; mere thoughts. But now she was standing across from a Super. She, a Luthor. Looking at a deadly substance in her hands. And it scared the living hell out of her. The anxious feeling in her chest that had been previously subdued by more pressing matters suddenly made its presence felt, reminding her of what too much power had done to the rest of her family. But Kara didn’t look scared… She just stepped closer to her… Closer to the Luthor, and closer to the substance that made her mortal.

“Because… because I understand, Lena.”

Lena looked up, giving her an incredulous look. “I understand how hard it is for you to trust people. And… you know, they- they say that… if you want someone to trust you, you have to trust them first, so…” Kara paused, giving her an impossibly honest look. “I just want to let you know that I trust you, Lena… I trust you…” she gestured to the small box, “…with my life.” Lena looked at her with wide eyes as Kara stepped closer, now coming face to face, and speaking with a trembling voice. “I- I know this shouldn’t be about me right now, but… when I was a child, I lost everyone. My parents, my whole planet… And then when Mon-el landed here, it’s almost like- like I got a piece of home back. But- but then I lost him too…” Kara looked anywhere but at Lena, her voice breaking and clearly fighting back tears. “I know this is hard for you, Lena, but- but please try… please try, be- because I can’t lose you too. Not you, Lena…” she tentatively reached out for Lena’s arm, still too scared to look her in the eye. “Not you…”

Lena didn’t recoil this time. To be honest, she was too overwhelmed to move at all. She let Kara grab hold of her sleeve, not moving a muscle. She didn’t budge, as Kara stepped into her space while still looking away and very slowly, as if she was afraid that the youngest Luthor would run away at any second, she put her arms around her and carefully hugged her close. Lena could feel the woman shaking. The woman whose arms were around her, and who could probably crush her bones if she wanted to. The same woman who had just given away the means to kill her. The woman who was currently pressing her body against Lena, who was still frozen in place. Lena’s hands were still holding the small lead box, as it was pressed in between their bodies. Even without the gesture… even overlooking the fact that Lena couldn’t find any more rational reasons to doubt the woman’s honesty… the way she felt right now might have already been enough. Because just like before, Kara made the anxious feeling in her chest go away. Just like before, she seemed to be able to replace it with that warm feeling of safety, that for some reason both calmed her and made her heart beat faster at the same time. As she slowly peeled the lead box out from between them, she suddenly realised what she was actually looking at. She wasn’t looking at a weapon. She wasn’t looking at a path to insanity. She was looking at trust. Kara’s trust… in physical form.

Lena huffed out an incredulous breath at what this meant. That for once, hoping for the best hadn’t been in vain. What else did you expect, when Kara was involved? Kara… not Supergirl…

She was telling the truth. She was real.

 

Lena let out the tiniest of incredulous laughs because it was hilarious, if you thought about it. Here she was; a dangerous chemical in her hand, a trembling woman wrapped around her, who was probably still scared that she didn’t want to see her anymore, and Lena… she had never felt this happy. It would sound stupid if she said it out loud, that much she realised, but the anxious feeling in her chest was nowhere to be found and this was all she was left with; She just felt happy. More than she’d ever felt in her life. Because Kara was real… Because the implausibly sweet and caring woman was actually real. And because her fear appeared to be gone. Which made sense. Because what was the one thing… the one thing, that would ensure she would never follow in her family’s footsteps? What was the one thing, that would guarantee that she would never lay a finger on Supergirl? Well… this.

She knew she would never think of harming Supergirl again… because Supergirl was actually Kara Danvers. And not the other way around…

Lena had a small, watery smile on her face, while staring at the small lead box in her right hand. She felt Kara trembling against her and she realised she should probably say something. ‘I believe you?’ No, way too obvious. ‘It’s okay?’ Hardly memorable. Lena’s smile grew wider, because there was only one thing she wanted to hear right now; Kara’s beautiful laugh.

“Hey, Kara… guess what?”

Kara suddenly stopped shaking, seeming completely petrified but still holding onto Lena tightly. “What?” she asked softly, uncertainty in her voice. Lena smirked.

“We just had our first fight.”

Kara laughed. She laughed, almost hysterically, as the bursts of laughter suddenly mixed with sobs. The alien reporter buried her face into Lena’s shoulder as the bursts of hysterical laughter and relieved tears kept on coming. Lena finally put her arms around her, shushing her, and leaning her head against Kara’s. She stroked the woman’s head with her left hand, while her right still held on to the physical representation of trust. Lena just stood there, holding her best friend and looking at the small lead box. And although she felt happier than she could ever remember being… although there was nothing more she could ask for right now… there was a logic that suddenly felt oppressing.

It was the same logic that had started plaguing her since Sam had passed on. Lena’s smile slowly faded, as it was getting more difficult to ignore. She tried to, but it was hard to do when Kara was pressed this closely to her. It was difficult, when her heart and her happiness were flaunting their presence this loudly. It got even more difficult when, later that day, she took a sledgehammer and destroyed every last prototype of her alien detection device, while dr. Benson looked on with bulging eyes. It was getting impossibly complicated to look the other way, as Sam’s and Maggie’s words started to play on repeat inside her head. The logic that wasn’t logical, was steadily tilting towards being possible. And quite frankly…

 

…it was scarier than holding Kryptonite.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_“It- it- it’s done.”_

_Lillian Luthor snapped her head around, looking at the underfed woman that was chained to the chair. She stepped up to the table and took her son’s device into her hands, examining it from all sides. An unsettling smile started forming on her lips as she turned around and put her phone back to her ear, while the chained woman let out a ragged breath.  “It would appear we are ready” Lillian spoke into her phone, while looking at her son’s device with a victorious glint in her eyes. “I suggest you leave for Metropolis as soon as you can. Henshaw will accompany you.”_

_Hank Henshaw growled angrily while on the other end of the line, the hooded figure let out a measured laugh. “So you don’t trust your goon to do things on his own?” the figure asked, sounding amused. “I wouldn’t either, I suppose.”_

_“If all goes well, it will only take a few hours” Lillian said sternly. “If you just manage to work together for that long, we will finally rid the two most alien-infested cities of its excessive inhabitants. And of course, the rest of the world will follow soon.” She took another look at the cube-shaped technology in her hand, handing it to the Cyborg._

_“So you will take on National City by yourself?” the figure said, sounding condescending. “Even after you failed to dispose of your own daughter?”_

_“As unfortunate as that was,” Lillian started in a cold voice, “I doubt there is much that she can do. And even if she tries to,” she patted her gun through the fabric of her coat, “I will handle it personally.”_

_“Well, if that’s your plan…” the figure sighed, still sounding mostly amused. “Here’s to a better earth.”_

_“To Cadmus” Lillian said fiercely, her eyes lighting up with pride._

_“Yes,” the figure chuckled, “sure… to Cadmus.”_

_As the figure hung up, Lillian turned her attention back to Henshaw. “You might want to start unloading our equipment. I will need it ready before you leave for Metropolis.” The Cyborg just grunted in affirmation, depositing Lex Luthor’s cube on the table, before heading out of their hide-out. Lillian stepped back to the table, collecting the various test tubes and putting them in a silver briefcase. After assembling all of them and shutting the lid, she took the briefcase in hand, then moved her son’s device under her arm and faced the chained woman. “I suppose I should thank you for your services,” Lillian started, a sadistic look in her eyes, “even though they weren’t exactly… voluntary.” The chained woman didn’t know what to say, simply looking up at Lillian from her chair with fear written on her face. “Nevertheless, you’ve made a great contribution to ridding the world of the alien menace. They will all be gone soon,” Lillian showed off a devilish grin, “Supergirl and all her ilk. Banished to a world they belong in; The underworld.” Lillian laughed, as she looked at the device under her arm._

_“You- you c- can’t stop S- Supergirl.”_

_Lillian raised an eyebrow as she looked back at the chained woman._

_“I- I- told you…” the woman stammered, her face twitching in fear, “the device, it- it- it still w- won’t work with Kryptonite.”_

_Lillian let out a loud laugh before looking the chained woman over. “Yes, you’ve mentioned that. You didn’t honestly think I expected_ you _to make it work with Kryptonite when even my son couldn’t do it?” Lillian hummed in disapproval as she showed off her sadistic smile again. “Don’t you worry about Supergirl… I have something else planned for her.” She straightened her coat and turned more serious. “But you can stop worrying about that. Like I said… you’ve done well. So I suppose that this is as good a time as any, to end our association.”_

_“R- Really?”_

_The woman seemed to let go of some of her tension, looking at the space ahead of her with hope in her eyes. She was so relieved at the thought of regaining her freedom, that she didn’t even notice the other woman pulling something out of her coat. She was still thinking about finally getting out of her captive state, when she looked back at Lillian Luthor, and her eyes widened in terror. “NO!! PLEASE-”_

_A loud shot echoed through the poorly lit space. The seated woman slumped sideways, her chains the only thing preventing her from falling to the floor. Lillian Luthor calmly put her gun back in her coat and walked away, taking the silver briefcase and her son’s device with her. She paused by the door, taking the tall cylindrical device along as well. She closed the door behind her, leaving only some equipment and spare parts she deemed useless. Those were the only things left in the small room that was now completely dark. Those, and the dead body of the woman that was hanging over the side of the chair. No one to find her, nothing to be heard._

_Except the blood softly dripping to the floor._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, the last three chapters are all ACTUAL ghosts. They also might take a while to get right, so sit tight.
> 
> Incidentally; literally everyone got the 'Harold' reference in the last chapter but, surprisingly, no one found the pun. (If you were still wondering; it's the name of the insurance company.)


	14. Kerry Runnels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Take my hand…”

 

_May 27 th 2017_

 

It was an extremely quiet morning, even for a Saturday. The only part of town with some life in it was the intersection between Lasseter street and Darwin avenue, where ‘Jacksons Constructions’ stubbornly continued repairing the pavement, despite the rest of the city taking a break. The most notably quiet part of town, however, was the L-Corp building; a place that was usually still fully functional on Saturdays. But this week the whole building had been given the weekend off. Which meant that the only people present were Titus, half asleep behind the front desk, and Jess, who was blatantly ignoring her boss’s orders and was going over monthly budget reports. Lena Luthor herself was not present. Lena was currently sitting on Kara’s couch, trying to convince herself that giving her employees some time off was something she’d been thinking about for a while. As opposed to something that had just popped into her head when an opportunity to spend an entire day with Kara had presented itself. Nope. That last one was definitely _not_ what happened.

“Thank you!”

Lena looked up, seeing Kara close the door with a stack of pizza boxes in hand and just catching a glimpse of the delivery boy, who looked rather baffled at the early hour at which pizza was being ordered. Kara plopped down on the couch beside her with a satisfied sigh, as she started to arrange the boxes to fit on the table. “I think I should probably be embarrassed” Lena said with a smirk, as Kara looked up at her. “I mean, just by your eating habits I should’ve guessed you weren’t human.”

“Pfft, like you should talk!!” Kara exclaimed. Lena quirked an eyebrow at the woman next to her on the couch, as Kara gave her an amused look. “There are three incredibly yummy pizzas in front of you, but you only have eyes for those awful vegetables!”

Lena sighed and shook her head. “Strawberries are fruits, Kara” she explained calmly. She picked one of the aforementioned fruits out of the bowl in her lap and brought it up to her mouth. “And just for the record… they’re delicious.” She took a bite out of the strawberry while looking at Kara and she could’ve sworn the woman was blushing as she let out a nervous laugh. “You’re so weird…” Kara said shyly.

The blush on Kara’s cheeks was a common occurrence, and Lena was very well aware that she would tease the blonde woman just to get a glimpse of it, although there really wasn’t any logical explanation for it. Or for the spike in her heartrate whenever it happened. A pesky voice in her head (that sounded a lot like Sam) was insisting on paradoxical explanations, but Lena continued to force those thoughts to the back of her mind. Because that would make no sense. It would make absolutely no sense if-

“It makes no sense.”

Lena blinked and gave the woman beside her a surprised look. “What?” she asked confused.

“It makes no sense” Kara repeated, while looking at the DVD case in her hand. “Why are we starting with episode 4? How am I supposed to understand what’s going on?” Lena laughed at that. “Because that’s how the rest of the world got to see it” she explained. “We’re starting with four through six, then we can get to one, two and three. According to Winn that is ‘the one and only correct order’.” Kara gave her an uncertain look. “I don’t know Lena… these movies are like, _really_ long. And six of  them? Won’t that get incredibly boring?” Lena lowered the strawberry that was halfway to her mouth and fixed Kara with a completely serious look.

“Star Wars is not boring.”

“Okay… if you say so” Kara said slowly, still looking somewhat unsure. Lena fondly shook her head as she reached for the remote.

“I still can’t believe Winn never got you to watch these.”

“I still can’t believe I missed you and Winn being friends!” Kara exclaimed. “When did that happen anyway?”

“Don’t- don’t change the subject” Lena stammered, not feeling quite ready for that conversation right now. Or ever. “We were discussing how you managed to miss the awesomeness that is Star Wars.”

Kara gave an adorable laugh. “Hang on… did you just say ‘awesomeness’? Did I just hear Lena Luthor say that?”

“Yes” Lena replied stoically, “some things warrant to be classified as such. Like Star Wars,” she glanced down at her bowl “or strawberries, or…” she looked back up to find Kara adjusting her glasses and tilting her head in that adorable fashion, “or… or you…” she finished softly.

“Aw, stop it.”

Kara laughed as she swatted dismissively in her direction and Lena dutifully ignored the beat her heart skipped. “Alright!” Kara exclaimed. “We’re good to go, right? I’ve got my food, you have your… fruits,” Kara made a face, “so let’s get this show on the road!” She shifted on the couch and took a bite of her first slice of pizza, before pulling a disgusted face. “Eeeeeww…”

“What is it?”

“It’s cold!” Kara groaned as she put her slice back in its box. “That’s the third time this week!” Kara was now opening all three boxes on the table. “Wait,” Lena started, “you ordered pizza three times just this w-”

Lena choked on the rest of her sentence, as suddenly Kara shot a beam of blue light from her eyes onto the first pizza. She shot the other two with a blast as well, before lowering her glasses back to her face and giving a satisfied sigh. “There, all better!” She took her slice back in her hand. “Should we start?” she asked cheerfully as she turned to Lena.

“Um… yeah” Lena responded stiffly. She reached for the remote on the table.

“You still don’t like it, do you?”

Lena looked to the side, where Kara was giving her the beginnings of a pout. “What? Pizza?” Lena questioned. “It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that with a normal metabolism, I-”

“No… I- I mean” Kara gave her an uncertain look, “you still don’t like it when I use my powers.”

Lena sighed as she looked at her lap. “It’s not like that…” She fiddled with her fingers while trying to figure out how to explain herself. “I’m just… not used to it yet. It’s one thing to know what you can do, but… it’s another to see it in person.” Lena uncertainly looked to the side, where Kara drooped her head and looked at her lap.

 “I’m sorry” Kara said meekly.

“Look, you…” Lena sighed, not wanting to ruin the mood, “…you don’t have to keep apologising, all right? We- we’ve been through this already, so… let’s just watch the movie.” Kara just nodded silently while nibbling at her pizza, as Lena pressed the button on the remote and the iconic music started to play.

Lena didn’t pay a lot of attention for the first few minutes. She tried to, but her eyes seemed to be acting of their own accord, as they kept looking back at Kara. She felt a little worried… I mean, just because Kara was an alien didn’t mean she wouldn’t be able to appreciate Star Wars, right? She would be able to see past potential scientific inaccuracies and see it for the fantastic piece of fiction that it was, right? After all, people didn’t actually burst out into song in real life either, but Kara still enjoyed those god-awful musicals. It might sound weird, but it was just _very_ important that Kara liked Star Wars.

For her part, Kara just seemed very concentrated most of the time. Lena didn’t manage to keep looking at her the entire time, though. (Lena was a busy woman and this was only the third time she’d gotten to watch these movies, okay?!) Her attention had drifted back towards the screen when Princess Leia was summoned for interrogation, and stayed there through the destruction of Alderaan and Chewbacca failing to beat R2 at a board game. When Han and Obi-Wan started arguing over the existence of the force, however, Lena looked back at Kara, noticing she had removed her glasses and was rubbing her eyes with one hand. “Kara?” Lena questioned unsurely. “Is everything alright?”

“I, um-” Kara kept her hand over her eyes, “I’m- I’m sorry, I have to…”

She suddenly jolted up from the couch and sped towards the bathroom. “Kara, what…” Lena looked on with a worried expression as the bathroom door slammed shut. She paused the movie before quickly following her. She went to knock on the door, before freezing in place at the sound of a soft sob coming from the other side. Lena completely bypassed reason and courtesy, barging in, and found Kara on the floor with her knees pressed to her chest and her glasses discarded beside her as she tried to dry the tears on her face. Lena’s heart constricted at the sight. “What happened?!” Lena hurriedly made her way over and dropped to her knees beside Kara. “What- what’s the matter?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“I’m sorry, it’s- it’s just…” Kara drew a ragged breath as she tried to control her breathing, “…I haven’t seen something like that in a long time.” Lena gave her a confused frown, still feeling her heart constrict at Kara being in tears. “Something like what?” she asked.

“S- something like… a planet dying…”

Lena inhaled sharply upon realising what had just happened. Upon realising that she’d just forced her best friend to relive the most traumatic experience of her life. _Lena, you useless piece of garbage!!_

“Kara, I- I’m so sorry, I… I didn’t even think of it…” she swallowed harshly, as Kara kept wiping at her eyes, “But... why didn’t you just say something?! You didn’t have to hide away in your own house!”

“Because, I…” Kara turned her head, giving Lena an uncertain look, “…I know you don’t like it… I know you don’t like thinking about me being an alien…”

Lena felt her chest well up with a strange mix of indignation and concern. “That doesn’t mean I want to see you cry!!” Kara just nodded as she cast her eyes downwards, while Lena moved from her knees to sitting awkwardly on her side, trying to figure out how to comfort the woman. “You- you never told me about these,” Lena said as she picked up Kara’s glasses from the floor, thinking this might be a good distraction. “How you decided that there was no better disguise than a pair of glasses” Lena tried to tease.

“Actually…” Kara started unsurely, “…Jeremiah gave them to me.”

Lena’s insides froze. Great. She’d just brought up another lost family member. _Good god, Lena, can you do nothing right?!_

“I had trouble controlling my x-ray vision when I first got to earth.” Lena looked on as Kara distractedly fiddled with the collar of her blouse. “So Jeremiah made me these lead-lined glasses to help me cope.” Kara suddenly looked down at her hand and huffed out a breath as she shook her head. “I keep forgetting it’s not there…” she said softly. “My mother’s necklace,” Kara explained, upon seeing Lena’s confused face, “I keep forgetting I don’t have it anymore. This probably sounds stupid, but” Kara let out a humourless laugh, “I used to just… hold it… when I felt lonely.” She turned to Lena and tried to smile. “Silly, right?”

“Here” Lena blurted out, “you can hold this.” Without thinking about it, she reached out and grabbed Kara’s hand, holding it tightly. Kara looked at their hands for a moment, before actually letting out a small laugh.

“I can hold your hand?”

Lena just nodded, looking completely serious. “Yes. Whenever you feel lonely… or any other time for that matter.” Kara actually managed to smile this time, as she laid her head back on the tiles behind her and gave Lena a fond look.

“I really don’t know what I‘d do without you.”

Lena swallowed, looking into Kara’s blue eyes. “Likewise” she muttered.

As they sat there on the cold bathroom floor, Lena still holding Kara’s hand with her right and the woman’s glasses with her left, the young CEO leaned a little closer. She wanted to say something… at least she thought she did, but… she wouldn’t be able to tell you what, exactly. Kara lifted her head from the tiles behind her, giving her a questioning look. Lena wasn’t sure why she was still slowly moving her head closer to Kara’s, while still looking at those blue eyes. She didn’t need to be this close to say something, in fact, she didn’t need to be close at all; what with Kara having Super hearing and all that. Nonetheless, for some mysterious reason, she just kept slowly leaning closer as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Kara looked like she was about to say something, maybe ask her what was wrong, but the words appeared to get stuck in her throat. Lena wasn’t sure if she was imagining things at this point, but as Kara’s face turned more serious… she seemed to begin leaning closer as well… and that’s when Kara’s phone buzzed.

They both flinched in surprise and sat straight up again, as Kara took out her phone. _Deep breaths, Lena, just take deep breaths._ She was being silly; it was probably just the power of suggestion that-

“I’m sorry, I…” Kara swallowed, as Lena met her eyes, “…I have to go, there’s a… thing.”

Lena huffed out a small laugh, her heartrate still way too elevated. “You know you can say it, right?”

Kara laughed nervously. “You’re right, I’m sorry, there’s… a Supergirl thing.” Lena gave her a small smile.

“Well… be careful.”

Kara just nodded, before standing up and disappearing behind a gust of wind. Lena looked back down at her hands, realising she was still holding onto the woman’s glasses. As she realised that she was still sitting on the cold floor, she began to wonder when her world had seemingly started to revolve around Kara. She tried to, but she couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. She supposed that was just what happened when you were such good friends, right? Although… did friends really shut down an entire corporation just to spend time with each other? _Shut up, Sam!!_ Did friends really stare into each other’s eyes for a good minute? _Shut up, Maggie!!_

Lena was brought out of her confusing thoughts when her own phone suddenly buzzed, prompting her to look at the incoming text. Lena frowned at the small screen, because the text was from Winn and it was just an address. It was quickly followed by another one, telling her to get over there immediately. Lena’s frown grew deeper.

**Lena:** _< Care to explain?>_

**Winn:** _< no time, please just get over here>_

**Winn:** _< RIGHT NOW>_

Lena didn’t know what to make of it but after all, Winn had always helped her whenever she needed him to. She sighed as she got off the cold floor and made her way to leave, barely conscious of the fact that she was still holding Kara’s glasses.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lena arrived at the mysterious destination fairly quickly, noticing that it was one of National City’s skyscrapers. As she approached the building, she spotted a figure nervously pacing in front of it while biting his nails. She frowned as she approached the man.  “Winn… what’s going on?”

The man’s head immediately snapped up and despite the relief upon seeing her, he was clearly very nervous. “Finally!” he exclaimed. “Quick, follow me.” He suddenly turned around and led her to an alley beside the building, apparently guiding her towards a service entrance. “What took you so long?” Winn asked, his tone still very grim, as he swiped a security card and opened the small door before they stepped into a small corridor.

“I gave my staff the weekend off,” Lena started slowly, “that includes my driver… Winn, seriously, what are we doing?” He didn’t respond immediately as he started making his way up a small staircase, while Lena tried her best to keep up. She noticed that the interior of the building was very basic, most of the walls bare concrete; a stark contrast to the exterior she’d just seen, which didn’t look at all out of place amidst the flashy modern buildings of the city.

“Okay, Winn, hang on…” she grabbed him by his sleeve halfway up a flight of stairs and forced him to stop, “…is this,” she started unsurely, “…is this the DEO?” Winn swallowed, his expression still uncharacteristically serious as he just nodded in response. “And let me guess,” Lena squinted her eyes at him, “you’re not supposed to show me this place, are you?” Winn sighed as he looked from side to side for a moment. Lena was about to continue pressing him for information when he suddenly stepped down to her level and gave her an intent look.

“Someone’s trying to poison all the aliens in the city.”

Lena’s eyes widened slightly. “What do you mean, poison?” she asked suspiciously. Winn shrugged his shoulders, looking genuinely scared. “We- we don’t know,” he stammered, “all we know is that about an hour ago, every alien in National City suddenly got sick. Some just seem to have a very severe case of the flu, while- while others…” Winn swallowed audibly, “…others… have it a lot worse.” He went to continue walking up the stairs but Lena stopped him again, understanding finally dawning on her.

“Winn…” she swallowed, feeling scared for him, “…it’s Lyra, isn’t it?”

Winn’s shoulders dropped while letting out a shaky breath, before speaking again in a trembling voice: “She’s been coughing up blood since she got here. And no- nobody knows how to help and they’re trying in there, but the med-bay is basically overflowing at this point, even J’onn and M’gann are unconscious and- and-”

“Hey, hey,” Lena grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to calm him down, “we’ll figure this out, alright?” Winn just nodded. “Good, so… talk to me, what do we know already?” Winn took a few breaths to calm himself down, before elaborating on the situation: “Well, it couldn’t have been food or water related, because everyone got sick at the same time,” Winn started, “and it can’t be the Medusa virus again either,  because that was destroyed and- and even if it wasn’t they’d still need that isotope of yours...”

“That’s it?! You’ve got nothing else?!”

“Well… we’re not sure, but… Lyra’s brother is here too and he has the exact same symptoms she has. So…” Winn gave her a hesitant look, “...whatever has poisoned them, it seems to react differently based on the species. Probably…”

“I don’t think that’s likely,” Lena shook her head, “I highly doubt that there’s a substance that would be toxic to _every_ alien species on earth.”

“So… you think they had a different substance for each one of them?” Winn asked, looking unconvinced. “That’s a stretch too, isn’t it?” Lena just shrugged, as Winn kept giving her a pleading look. “We, um- we still don’t know how they dispersed it either,” Winn said as he resumed climbing the stairs while Lena followed, “like I said, they couldn’t have all ingested it and… we’re actually doing a scan of the atmosphere right now, ‘cause…” Winn scoffed, “…Alex thought you might have used that cube thing we fixed during the invasion. I tried to tell her that you’d never do something like that, but for some reason she just-”

“What?!”

They both came to a stop in front of the door leading out of the stairwell, as Lena looked at Winn with a shocked expression. “Alex thought that… but… you mean that _you_ don’t have Lex’s device?!”

Winn’s eyebrows shot up. “Wha- why would _we_ have it?! It- it was in _your_ office the last time I saw it.”

“But…” Lena felt her insides constrict, “…when I got back, the building was swarming with agents! They were turning the whole place inside out looking for mother, I… I thought that you guys took it!!” They both looked at each other in shock and Lena internally cursed herself for their stupidity. This was probably karma, she thought bitterly. That’s what you get when you spend your university years making fun of the communications class. Because what was so hard about communicating properly, right? Who needed lessons on exchanging information? Well, she did, apparently…

“Okay,” Winn muttered, clearly still slightly shocked by this revelation, “so I guess we know how they dispersed the poison… or _poisons_. Which also means…”

“That it’s not just National City, but the whole world that’s been affected. And I guess we don’t need a crystal ball to figure out that this is mother’s doing again” Lena stated bitterly. “You said you were doing a scan of the atmosphere, right? At least that will definitely show something.”

Winn nodded nervously. “Yeah… let’s hope we can use it.” He stepped up and pressed the handle on the door before momentarily pausing. “Just, um…” he gave Lena an uncertain look, “try not to look suspicious. I don’t want Alex to catch us.”

Lena scoffed. “No offence, but you’re the last person to be giving lectures on sneakiness.”

Winn just made a face, before stepping out of the stairwell with Lena close behind. The hallway they found themselves in was very large, and was a lot better lit than the small stairwell. Lena tried to keep her head down as they walked past several agents in black, but they were all hurriedly running somewhere or frantically exchanging information, so no one noticed Lena Luthor walking through the halls of the DEO. The whole facility was clearly in a state of emergency and Lena suddenly felt confronted with the gravity of the situation.

The very conspicuous duo arrived at what appeared to be the busiest part of the building, where a slew of computers was set up around a large and round sort of table which, for some reason, also seemed to be doubling as office lighting. “Okay,” Winn whispered, sitting down behind one of the computers, “let’s see… Ah! The scan is done!” They both leaned closer to the screen.

“Wait,” Lena drawled, “this can’t be right, can it? Are all these elements in the atmosphere right now?”

“Yes… I mean that’s what it says, but… I don’t recognise any of these compounds…”

“I do.”

Winn turned around to look at her. “Really?”

Lena nodded, feeling petrified at this discovery. “They’re variations…” she muttered weakly, “they’re variations of- of chemical samples of alien biology we had at L-Corp…”

“What do you mean? You were studying aliens?!”

“No!! Just- just their biology, but-”

“Wait,” Winn interrupted suddenly, “what do you mean you _had_ them at L-Corp?”

Lena swallowed, giving the man an uncertain look. “They were stolen…”

Winn’s eyes widened, but before he could respond they suddenly heard a loud voice echo through the room: “I’m _fine_ , Alex!!” Lena’s head shot back, looking at the door she’d just entered through, where Kara (in full Supergirl outfit) walked in, followed by a very aggravated looking Alex and two other people she didn’t recognise. “You are clearly _not_ fine,” Alex hissed, “so get your ass back to the med-bay right now or so help me-”

“Lena!”

Kara’s entire face lit up as she practically skipped towards the young CEO, while Alex strolled closer with a suspicious glare and Winn tried his best to shrink away in his seat. “What are you doing here?” Kara chirped, while Lena smiled at the quick hug she received.

“Yes, I’d like to know that too” Alex said slowly, with a deep frown in place and crossing her arms. She was looking very suspiciously at the youngest Luthor, as were the brunette woman wearing scrubs behind her and the middle-aged man who (for some reason) was the only guy in the building wearing a grey sweater instead of black combat gear.

“I’m here to help,” Lena responded evenly. “It would appear that mother is behind what is happening right now. Apparently she stole Lex’s device.”

“The device that was in _your_ office?” Alex asked angrily.

Lena fixed her with one of her signature glares. “Yes… that one.”

“And you somehow managed to miss that?”

“I’d like to think that after all the times you hacked my network, you would know by now that my office doesn’t have any security cameras” Lena bit back.

“Isn’t that convenient…”

“Guys!” Kara exclaimed, looking worriedly between Lena and Alex, who were still locked in a glaring contest. “Stop it! We need- need to… to…” Kara suddenly closed her eyes and drew a few sharp breaths before very suddenly, letting out a thunderous sneeze. Lena jumped up in surprise, as the gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet and all the loose papers in the room were sent flying. Alex cleared her throat while straightening her dishevelled hair.

“Like I said… you are most definitely _not_ fine. Now go back to the med-bay while I-”

“What’s wrong with you?” Lena asked concerned, directing her attention away from Alex and stepping closer to Kara. Alex breathed out of her nose in anger at being completely ignored by the duo.

“Nothing!” Kara exclaimed, while swatting her hand dismissively. “I’m just… sneezing a lot and… my head feels a little heavy and my nose is all clogged up…”

“That means you’re sick!” Lena exclaimed with concern. “But that’s not- that’s not possible, is it? I thought you could only be affected by Kryptonite, how did you-”

“Lena, seriously, I’m mostly fine-”

“No, you’re not!” Alex interjected, finally regaining the duo’s attention. “You’re not even close to full strength and you have all the symptoms of someone who should be lying in bed with a thermometer sticking out of their-”

“Your strength is gone?!” Lena exclaimed.

“No, no,” Kara responded, still seemingly trying to dismiss the whole situation, “it’s, like, at fifty percent… sort of…”

“Which is why we need to examine you further,” the young woman in scrubs interjected, while Alex and the man in the sweater nodded along in similar fashion. “That’s the only way to figure out what’s going on.”

“Listen to dr. Hamilton, Kara” Alex urged.

“But… I have to help…” Kara muttered, “…with getting all the aliens to the hospital and-”

“Hey,” Lena grabbed Kara’s hand, “we’ve got this, alright? I will take the data to L-Corp and see if I can reverse engineer an antidote. I mean, it might be complicated to counter-act all those substances and I have no idea how we would disperse them in the atmosphere, but-”

“You’re not going anywhere with our data!” Alex snapped. “As long as J’onn is out of commission I’m in charge around here, and I see no reason for you to take that information out of this building. What makes you think that you would have a better shot at fixing this than the entire DEO?”

“Because the compounds in the atmosphere are variations of biochemical samples that were stolen from L-Corp,” Lena explained, trying to contain her aggravation at Alex’s suspicious stance. “Obviously mother manipulated them to create chemicals that would be toxic to the aliens that the samples were taken from.”

“They were stolen?” Alex asked sceptically. “And let me guess; there’s no evidence of that happening either, is there?”

“Of course there is; I reported the theft.”

“Sure you did” Alex scoffed.

“Yes, I did! Just ask your girlfriend!”

“Excuse me?!!”

Alex stepped closer and looked like she was about to blow a gasket, when Winn suddenly shot up from his chair. “Enough!!” he shouted. “If Lena thinks she can fix this than we have to let her try, alright?! Because the longer you waste your time arguing, the longer we risk all the aliens’ conditions getting really bad!! If you don’t want to trust Lena that’s fine, then I’ll just go with her!!”

Everybody stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring in bewilderment at Winn’s sudden display of anger while he promptly stuffed his laptop in a bag and copied the analysis of the atmosphere onto a flash drive. Alex was the first to regain her voice, clearing her throat and stepping closer to him. “Fine, we’ll do it like that. Agent Schott, I need to have a word with you.” She glared back at Lena for a second before guiding Winn away from the rest, as the man in the grey sweater followed them.

Lena swallowed, not sure how much she would actually be able to do and feeling more and more worried at what the current situation was doing to Winn. “Are- are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?” Kara suddenly asked. “I can just fly you to your building, you know… to be safe.”

“No, Kara,” Lena said sternly, “it’s just a few blocks and I’m not a child. You just go and have yourself checked out. I’ll be a lot more at ease when we know how mother has managed to affect you, even without Kryptonite.” Lena gave the alien woman a concerned look, knowing very well that if this was something her mother had come up with, then Kara going outside in this state was probably exactly what the eldest Luthor was hoping for. Because this was Kara, Lena had to remind herself. It was strange that she had to consciously remind herself of that fact, but this was the first time she had actually talked with Supergirl while knowing who she really was. It was definitely a strange feeling…

“Well… okay” Kara pouted. “Just be careful, alright?”

She hugged Lena again and while pulling back she quickly kissed her on the cheek, before turning around and moping off in the direction of the med-bay with hanging shoulders. Meanwhile, Lena felt like her head would start giving of steam any second. Which made no sense, because nothing really happened. _Kara’s lips were on my cheek, so what? That’s no big deal. I’m fine. I’m totally fine, why do you ask? I’m not blushing, you’re blushing._

“Thank you.”

Lena got suddenly pulled out of her thoughts and looked at the woman in scrubs. (dr. Hamilton, she suddenly remembered)

“She can be pretty stubborn sometimes” the doctor said with a smile. “I’m glad she actually listens to someone else besides Agent Danvers.”

“Yes, well… we’re- we’re friends. We’re really good friends. Friends listen… to each other… I guess. We’re just friends…”

“Okay…” dr. Hamilton drawled, looking at Lena like she also needed medical attention.

“Lena!” Winn suddenly appeared beside the young CEO, making her flinch in surprise. “I’m ready, come on let’s go!” He basically dragged her away, while Lena forcefully pulled her mind back to planet earth, and realised she forgot to give Kara her glasses back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The short journey through the streets of the city was almost surreal. When Lena had made her way to the DEO, she hadn’t really noticed anything out of the ordinary. Now, however, there were people coughing loudly at every turn and at least a dozen times did they pass someone carrying another person in their arms or holding them up by the waist, undoubtedly guiding them towards the hospital where, Lena realised, they probably wouldn’t be able to help them anyway. When for the second time in a few minutes, they passed a few people gathered around a crumpled figure on the floor, it suddenly hit Lena how massive the alien population really was. She worriedly glanced to her side, where Winn was looking very pale. “What, um… what did Alex want before?” Lena asked, trying to distract the man from the ominous reminders of what was happening to his girlfriend.

“Oh, she just… warned me to keep an eye out and not trust you and that kind of nonsense. By the way, you might need this.” He shoved a small earpiece into her hands. “That’s one of the DEO’s comms” he explained. “That way you can listen in on the DEO’s communications. It’s directly linked to mine, so you can hear everything I’m hearing. If you want to say something you just hold this button, but maybe… don’t actually do that otherwise Alex won’t let me hear the end of it.”

“Thanks, Winn.” She took the device and put in her ear. As she looked to the side again, she noticed Winn’s grim expression had returned. “Don’t worry,” she said, trying to sound encouraging, “we will find something to fix this. You’ll be back with Lyra before you know it, and your boss will wake up, and I’ll be able to get back to Star Wars and pizza with Kara.”

Winn actually let out a short chuckle at that. “I don’t know what shocks me more: the fact you got Kara to watch Star Wars, or the fact she got you to eat pizza.”

“ _She_ ate pizza. I was just enjoying my strawberries.”

“Of course you were” Winn laughed. “I suppose you… Maggie?!”

Lena followed Winn’s surprised expression to see Maggie walking by, supporting a figure that seemed mostly human except for his oddly shaped head and the greyish-blue tint of his skin. “Hey, guys” she grumbled, looking extremely annoyed.

“Why- why’d we stop?! Why’d we stop, Maggie?!” the alien asked, looking aimlessly from left to right.

“What’s wrong with him?” Winn asked concerned.

“He lost his eyesight,” Maggie responded, “although he failed to explain why that affected his ability to stand straight up.” She pulled a face, as she staggered sideways with the alien’s arm around her shoulders.

“We- we should keep moving” the alien rambled. “We were going to the police station, right? But I’m definitely not under arrest, right? Because I swear I was going to pay-”

“Shut up, Brian!” She huffed out an annoyed breath before turning to Lena. “We’re starting to take the aliens to the police station now; the hospital is already over its maximum emergency capacity at this point. So…” she gave Lena an uncertain look, “…if that brilliant brain of yours has a way to save every last alien again, now would be a good time to pull it out.”

“We’re working on it.”

“Alright, well… good luck. Come on, Brian.” Maggie guided the alien further along the street, almost buckling due to the way he was leaning his full weight on her.

Lena sighed as she and Winn carried on towards the L-Corp building. “I still don’t get it, though,” she breathed out, “even if mother stole the samples from our labs and used them to somehow engineer multiple poisons, how could she have possibly found something to make Kryptonians sick? I mean… if Lex had invented something like that, he would have definitely used it instead of locking it away in that vault of his.”

“Actually,” Winn started hesitantly, “I suspect she might have used Kara’s blood for that.”

“Oh come on, Winn, how could mother possibly have gotten her hands on Kara’s blood?”

“Well… there was that one time she kidnapped her and experimented on her…”

“WHAT?!”

Lena stopped in her tracks, right in front of the entrance to her building, giving Winn an incredulous look. “My mother kidnapped Kara?!!”

“Yeah, she… took her blood and did all kind of painful tests on her. That’s how she got her hands on the Medusa virus in the first place…”

Lena breathed out of her nose, feeling unprecedented anger flowing through her veins. She shook her head incredulously as she stepped through  the revolving doors and into her building while Winn followed. She went to explain her presence to Titus, but she noticed the man was fast asleep; snoring loudly behind his desk. It was probably Lena’s anger at the discovery of Lillian hurting Kara, that made her consider firing the man on the spot. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time for that right now. So instead, she headed to the small corridor to the left that lead to her private lab.

“So, not to be pessimistic or anything,” Winn started in the most pessimistic voice possible, “but how exactly are you going to reverse engineer antidotes to some 50-odd poisons in anything less than several months?”

“It would actually take that long” Lena responded grimly, while they made their way down the small staircase. “Or at least it would if I were doing it alone, but by tomorrow we can get my staff back from vacation and-”

“ _Tomorrow?!_  Lena, the aliens’ conditions are already deteriorating now, and it’s been less than two hours!”

“I know!! I know, alright… of all the weekends to give my employees time off…” Lena nervously swiped her security card to open the door to her lab, “I can try calling dr. Benson at least,” she started as she stepped inside, “it’s still early and maybe he hasn’t left yet, so-”

Lena froze as soon as she stepped inside, before feeling a huge sense of relief wash over her. Someone was inside the lab; there was still someone here! She smiled widely as she stepped closer to the figure in the white lab coat that was bent over the table, but she suddenly came to a stop again.

“Lena… what’s wrong?” Winn asked confused.

Lena opened and closed her mouth a few times as she looked at the woman that was standing in front of the table. The woman’s curly hair was dangling loosely on the side of her face as she frantically grabbed the equipment in front of her. Or at least she was trying to. Lena swallowed, because the woman’s hands kept grabbing at the same piece of equipment over and over again while she panted heavily, but her fingers kept going straight through it. Lena stepped closer, because she recognised the woman… and felt her heart constrict at the fact that she was now a ghost.

“Dr. Runnels…?”

The woman suddenly straightened up, looking to the side with fearful eyes, before recognising her former boss. “Ms. Luthor!” She frantically started wiping her right hand on her lab coat. “The- the tools, Ms. Luthor…” she gestured to the table, “I- I can’t- I can’t pick them up… the tools… something is wrong with the tools…”

“Wait… dr. Runnels?!” Winn suddenly asked. “Isn’t that the scientist that went missing last November?! And now she’s… she’s a…”

Lena just nodded as she kept looking at the woman in front of her. Kerry Runnels had been one of the first people she’d hired after taking over the company from Lex. The woman was one of the top chemical engineers in the country despite being barely 30 years old, and Lena had always enjoyed working with her. She’d always been a very serious and professional person, and some might have called her emotionless, but Lena knew better. Lena had seen her, when they’d discussed new applications for the knowledge of alien biology they had garnered, or when she’d announced a breakthrough in the struggle to make the alien detection device work. At times like that her emotions would always shine through, as she would almost vibrate with enthusiasm, unable to contain her excitement at having discovered something no one else had been able to.

At this very moment, however, the apparition of Kerry Runnels displayed neither of those sides of her. She looked exactly like Lena had always seen her in life: a neatly buttoned white lab coat that contrasted with her dark skin, her naturally curly hair hanging loose beside her face, but something was different. She wouldn’t stop rubbing her side with her right hand, as if she had a constant itch. Her eyes displayed panic and a despair that Lena had never seen and there seemed to be small, almost imperceptible twitches constantly affecting her facial features. She looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown, seemingly trembling all over, and Lena realised that whatever had happened to the woman in the last six months… it had definitely changed her.

“Dr. Runnels… Kerry…” she stepped closer, scanning the woman from top to bottom, “…what happened to you?”

The woman in front of her opened and closed her mouth a few times, as her face kept twitching all over. “It was- she… L- Luthor… Lillian… I mean, your mother… it was your mother and- and that r- robot person and the- the scientist that never showed their face…” Lena swallowed, disgusted by the fact that she ever thought her mother to have any redeemable qualities, “…they- they made me do it, Ms. Luthor. The- the cube… the device… to infect the atmosphere…” The woman was starting to breathe more heavily, as she gave Lena a pained, almost apologetic expression. “I- I swear I d- didn’t want to, a- and I tried to pretend I couldn’t help, b- but the- the pain… the pain, Ms. Luthor…” Dr. Runnels was now looking off into the distance with a horrified expression as she started frantically rubbing the side of her neck. “The- the pain was too much… I tried… I swear I tried, Ms. Luthor!!” the woman sobbed, continuing her frantic movements. “But she- she wouldn’t stop!! It just k- kept going f- for days, and days, and days-”

“It’s okay! It’s okay, Kerry! Please calm down” Lena pleaded with her hands stretched out. The ghost of Kerry Runnels seemed to listen, ending her rant and rubbing her neck slightly less frantically.

“Lena,” Winn whispered intently while stepping closer, “I don’t know what’s going on, but we need to start analysing those poisons, like, _right now_.”

“I know!” Lena hissed. “Just… give me a second, alright.” She turned her attention back to dr. Runnels, who had returned to the table and was trying to pick up the tools again. Lena stepped up beside her with a concerned expression on her face. “Kerry…” the woman snapped to attention, still trembling and twitching all over, “…I’m so sorry that this had to happen to you, but… I need to know,” she gave the woman an intent look, “I need to know if you saw or heard anything that can help us. If- if you know where mother is, or… if you know a way to fix this, that doesn’t involve creating more than fifty new chemicals.”

Dr. Runnels’ eyes widened ever so slightly, before looking around the lab suspiciously. She stepped closer and seemed about  to say something before she apparently caught sight of Winn and her expression turned worried. “He- he…” she darted her eyes between him and Lena, “…is he… can- can we…”

“Don’t worry” Lena reassured her, “he’s on our side.”

Dr. Runnels took another moment, still eyeing Winn, before suddenly stepping uncomfortably close and whispering into Lena’s ear: “I sabotaged it.” She stepped back, letting out a soft and almost hysterical giggle, before worriedly looking around again, as if she thought Lillian Luthor would pop up from behind a corner and start torturing her again at any second.

“Are you sure?” Lena asked slowly, while giving a deep frown. “Because… the aliens are definitely sick and-”

“Yes, yes,” dr. Runnels frantically nodded her head, while once again rubbing her side, “I- I had to make it look like it worked. She- she would have noticed otherwise, but” she let out another giggle, looking slightly crazed at this point, “I added something… Do you- do you remember when we tried to create a chemical to instantly disinfect food?”

“Yes…” Lena started while frowning “…it was a complete failure. It was too strong; it didn’t just eradicate the bacteria, but all the food attached to it as well.”

“Exactly! And- and so… I rigged the device. There- there was some mould under the table, that’s- that’s what made me think of it and- and so I built in a separate container into the device. S- So all the elements dispersed by the device, would first have to create a hydrogen bond with the s- substance in the that container, w- which I loaded w- with the mould. Which was r- really hard because I had to scrape it f- from under the table without them noticing, b- but I did it, which- which means that…”

“That if we disperse that old disinfectant in the atmosphere…” Lena started incredulously “…all the poisons will be disintegrated as well!”

“Wait,” Winn stepped up next to the table as well, giving Lena a wide-eyed look, “are you serious?!”

Dr. Runnels frantically nodded her head in response, even though Winn couldn’t see that. “Yes! That- that’s why w- we have to build our own device,” she stammered, gesturing towards the tools again, “but the tools… I- I can’t pick them up… s- something is wrong with the tools… or- or maybe it’s me…”

“That’s okay, Kerry,” Lena exclaimed, taking off her coat and chucking it in a corner in her glee to have found a solution, “you’ve seen every side of it, so you just tell us how it’s made and we’ll build it, alright?!” Lena proceeded to take pen and paper out of a drawer, while dr. Runnels nodded and actually gave a nervous smile, despite never stopping her jerky movements. She described the exact structure and material of the device, Lena not knowing the exact workings since she’d only modified it, whereas dr. Runnels had had several months to study it. She warned Lena to use strong metals for the outer structure, otherwise it wouldn’t survive the blast of the dispersion, and carefully described the more delicate aspects of its dispersion system and the working of the inner chemical container. When she was done, Lena was left with a complete schematic of the device. It was definitely complicated, but it would take a lot less time to build than it would to figure out and create fifty-plus antidotes.

“So… do- do you think it’ll work?” Kerry asked nervously, her eyes giving Lena a pleading look.

Lena nodded her head. “Yes,” she smiled, “this should do it! Once we build this and disperse that old disinfectant with it, it will go after the mould and all the chemicals it attached itself to!”

“So…” Kerry darted her eyes between Lena’s, still looking scared, “…no one is going to die? I- I mean, I- I didn’t kill anyone?”

Lena’s face softened. “Of course not…”

Kerry immediately let out a burst of nervous laughter, as if she couldn’t quite believe it, before stumbling backwards, then slowly sliding down the floor and pressing her knees to her chest. “Good…” she let out another incredulous laugh and started rocking back and forward, “…I’m not a murderer… I’m- I’m not a murderer…” she kept repeating it to herself as she smiled nervously, almost as if she wasn’t sure she was allowed to, repeating the words like a constant mantra; “I’m not a murderer… I’m not a murderer…” she kept on repeating the same phrase over and over, still rocking back and forward, while light slowly started to seep through her skin.

“No!!” Lena hurriedly crouched down in front of the woman and tried to get her attention. “No, no, you can’t go!! You have to make sure we’re doing it right!! Kerry!!”

But the woman in front of her didn’t look at her anymore. She just kept nervously smiling off into the distance and repeating that same phrase over and over, as her voice started echoing distantly. The light seeping through her skin gradually became stronger and before long, it started moving over the woman’s body. It took less time than usual for the light to completely envelop her; the light’s task made easy by the woman’s huddled up figure. Even as her face disappeared behind the light, Lena could still hear the woman’s voice echoing from afar; continuing to repeat that she wasn’t a murderer. As the light started pulling away however, the voice quickly faded, and Lena was left staring up at those familiar orbs of light as they slowly but steadily floated away from each other. As the lights came to a stop in the air, Lena stood straight up and let her eyes go over all of them. They slowly started fading and after steadily dimming and dimming, they eventually completely disappeared and Lena hung her head down while letting out a long sigh.

 

Kerry Runnels had just passed on.

 

Winn nervously cleared his throat. “Did… I mean, is she…” Lena just nodded her head in response, “Crap…” Winn muttered.

“It’s fine” Lena breathed out, forcing herself to keep her poise and her dignity, despite still finding it hard to process that dr. Runnels wasn’t there anymore, and turning back around to face the table. “We have the schematics, and- and we have a viable plan now, so…” she bent down and pulled a box with scrap metal from under the table, taking out some of the contents and tossing it on the table, “…you start constructing the base,” she stated firmly, as Winn nodded and immediately grabbed the soldering iron, “we’ll need some finer alloys for the containers, but I’m pretty sure I have some of those still lying around in that-”

“ _Winn!!”_

Lena flinched in surprise at the voice coming from right next to her and snapped her head to the side, her heart pounding in her chest, before realising it was coming from the comm in her ear.

“What is it, Alex?” Winn asked while pressing a button on his own comm.

_“I need a status report on your progress, right now!!”_

“We, um- actually have a plan now…” Winn responded nervously, “it’s… it’s kinda complicated, but if you give us a while we can-”

_“We don’t have a while, Winn!!”_

Winn and Lena shared a concerned look, both surprised by the worried tone of Alex’s voice. “What… what do you mean?” Winn asked warily.

_“Pull up the city’s security network, camera 117 on Lilly street, the footage of two minutes ago.”_

Winn frantically grabbed at his bag, pulling the computer out and swiftly typing in the requirements to view the security footage. Lena leaned in closer as she and Winn both looked at a seemingly empty street. Winn brought his arm up to his comm again. “What exactly am I looking…” he faltered when on the left side of the screen a man suddenly stumbled into view. He was barely standing up, leaning on a wall to support himself all the way. He had barely stepped into the frame however, when he suddenly froze and looked at the end of the street. Winn and Lena soon figured out what he was looking at, as a floating… thing… suddenly entered the screen and stopped in front of the man. It looked like it was made of a dark grey steel, about the size of a washing machine, but a completely spherical form. It was sturdy and didn’t look very polished or sophisticated, Lena noticing several bolts on the exterior, and she wondered how on earth that thing was keeping itself afloat.

The man visibly flinched in surprise when the floating metal sphere suddenly emitted a thin beam of light that went over him from top to bottom. Lena thought that it almost looked as if it was scanning him. That suspicion was soon confirmed when a metallic, robot-like voice could suddenly be heard: _“Alien lifeform detected.”_  

The mans’ eyes widened as a compartment on the floating piece of metal suddenly opened and something seemed to slide out. The alien man frantically grabbed at his pocket and pulled out a gun before firing repeatedly at the strange technology, but it had absolutely no effect. Whatever that thing was constructed from, it was clearly not penetrable by bullets as they seemed to bounce right of the floating device, only creating some sparks in the process. Suddenly, the part that had slid out of an opening gave a soft click… and then it opened fire. Lena’s breath hitched in her throat as she saw the alien man get blasted by an array of bullets; the floating piece of metal firing at a speed that would put a machine gun to shame. The alien’s torso snapped back against the wall, his entire body shaking with the amount of bullets he was getting hit with. When the floating turret stopped firing, the alien slowly slid down to the pavement, leaving a thick trail of blood behind on the wall.

Lena and Winn could only stare as they watched the metallic sphere fly away, leaving just the figure of the dead alien on the floor. _“Winn! Did you see it?!”_ The voice from the comm snapped both of them out of their shocked daze, and Winn’s hand trembled as he pressed the button to respond: “What- what the hell was that?!”

_“It’s one of many, and also the reason why you two need to hurry up, whatever the hell you’re doing to fix this!!”_

“Wait… one of many?!” Winn asked in a trembling voice. “There’s more of those things?!”

_“Yes, and they’re all converging on the hospital and the NCPD!! This is exactly what Cadmus wanted!! We rounded them up like cattle for them and now they’re gonna try and slaughter them!!”_

Lena struggled to keep her poise and her dignity at this point, her panic bubbling up underneath the surface, but she refused to waste another second and grabbed the soldering iron and started assembling the pieces of metal to construct the base of the device herself. “We- we, um-” Winn stammered, “we’ll try, but you need to buy us some more time, otherwise-”

_“Kara!! No, come back!!”_

Alex cursed on the other end of the line and Lena paused her movements, turning to Winn. “What- what happened?! Winn, ask her what hap-”

_“Kara just took off for the hospital”_ Alex hissed, her concern increasingly evident.

“But, that’s- that’s okay, right?” Winn questioned unsurely. “I mean, she’s- she’s still bulletproof, so-”

_“But she’s still sick!! And we just found out that her strength is still decreasing, which means it’ll get harder and harder for her out there!! And at this rate… using that much energy to make up for her strength… it’s only a matter of time before she solar flares and blows out her powers!”_

The soldering iron in Lena’s hand started shaking, mirroring the tremors of her limbs, as she felt her panic come completely to the surface.

_“So whatever you’re doing, do it fast for god’s sake!! Otherwise…”_

Lena frantically grabbed a piece of metal and started attaching it to another, continuing the assembly of their dispersion device while very unsuccessfully trying to control her breathing.

_“…otherwise Kara’s gonna get herself killed!!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's been forever and I sincerely apologise (I'll elaborate in the comments.)  
> On the bright side: barring any disasters, I now predict to finish this story before February!  
> The opening scene was inspired by: 'moments coming together' by Trogdor
> 
> (Also in this chapter: a correct placement of Lena saying 'likewise'.)


	15. Two Luthors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “…take my whole life too…”

 

This was madness.

Ask any scientist in the world whether it would be feasible to reconstruct a device created by none other than Lex Luthor within a few hours and they would tell you just that: it was utter madness. So who better to attempt the impossible than Lena Luthor, right? Who better to defy the odds and come up with an implausible solution to a seemingly unresolvable crisis? Well, Lena herself would disagree this time. Because despite the fact that she’d made a career out of attempting the improbable and would usually leap at the opportunity to laugh in the face of adversity, she didn’t feel that way this time. She didn’t feel like laughing at anything right now, because Kara was once again putting her life at risk.

Alex had kept them informed through the DEO’s comms (that Lena was still listening in on), and it had been a strange experience. Sure, Lena was glad to know that Kara still had her powers and that she wasn’t dying just yet, but the disturbing play-by-play of Kara’s struggles to keep her mother’s killing machines from reaching the hospital was not exactly helping Lena’s concentration. Neither was the information that the NCPD was being attacked by those floating turrets as well, and that they were not doing too good despite most of the DEO agents being sent over there. Apparently the operation had turned into something of a target practice, with the agents playing the part of the targets…

But it was about to end. The madness was about to come to an end, because the formidable team of Lena Luthor and Winn Schott Jr. was almost finished. One hour and forty-two minutes in, they had actually almost completed the inhuman task and by god, if they managed to get away with this, Lena might have to actually let the man give himself a sidekick name!

She was currently on the first floor, slamming the door of a supply closet with a victorious glint in her eyes, because she’d been able to find her old failed attempt at creating a universal food disinfector. She clutched the small test tube with colourless liquid tightly, spurting towards the stairs as fast as her heels would allow her to, to get the chemical down to her private lab. Once she reached the door to the stairs, however, she came to a sudden halt and pressed herself against the wall, because she heard voices echoing through the staircase despite the fact that her building was supposed to be empty. It was only a moment later that she realised she shouldn’t be surprised by the intrusion, considering who worked her front desk.

“This is a really bad idea!! What do you even want to do?!”

“I just want to see if there’s something we can do to help!!”

“And we have to go outside for that?!”

“Yes, we do!!”

Lena felt herself relax upon recognising the voices.

“But there’s nothing we _can_ do! I’m not a doctor, and last I checked, _you’re_ not a doctor! So whatever you think-”

Lena stepped out into the staircase, facing the two arguing assistants, as Jess flinched in surprise while Hector gave a high-pitched scream and ducked away behind the woman. “What do you two think you’re doing?” Lena asked coolly.

“Ms. Luthor!” Jess exclaimed, still recovering from her shock. “We- we just, um… thought we would get some extra work in… and…”

“That’s what _she_ thought,” Hector interjected, stepping out from behind Jess and lowering his voice to a manly octave. “Ms. Workaholic over here basically threatened me, just to make me come to work.”

Jess shot the man a Luthor-worthy glare. “As long as you can’t even get Ms. Luthor’s coffee right, I think you should take every opportunity you can to improve-”

“Enough!” Lena interrupted. “Jess, don’t force my employees to come in on their day off. Hector, show some respect to Jess, she’s still your superior, and _neither_ of you are going outside at this time!” She fixed Jess with a warning glare, the conversation she’d just overheard suddenly making sense.

“Amen!” Hector exclaimed, as Lena headed down the stairs and her two assistants followed.

“But- but we have to help!” Jess protested. “We- we might be able to do something to help the aliens that-”

“I’m already fixing it, Jess. Me and Mr. Schott have been working on a solution for the past two hours and we’re almost done. So you two just sit tight and wait until it’s safe to go outside.” Jess seemed momentarily stunned into silence as she kept following her boss down the stairs.

“Say, Ms. Luthor,” Hector suddenly started, “when are they finally gonna give you a medal for saving everybody’s butts all the time?”

“I haven’t saved anyone yet,” Lena grumbled, “and you shouldn’t get a medal for being a decent human being.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Luthor, but I think the rookie is actually right this time” Jess interjected. “It’s starting to get ridiculous how many times you’re saving the city.”

“Okay, seriously?!” Hector huffed in annoyance. “I’ve been Ms. Luthor’s second assistant for over two months now! I really think that ‘rookie’ is no longer an acceptable-”

“FREEZE!!”

The next moments flashed by in quick succession: Lena stopped in her tracks, staring down the barrel of a gun. She felt herself getting tackled into the railing of the stairs by Jess. And she heard a gunshot. Lena groaned in pain as the railing hit her ribs, but she still focused on not dropping the test tube that would cure all the aliens from her grasp. When she was sure that the vial was still firmly in her hands, she looked back at Hector who had let out another scream and was standing in the middle of the staircase with wide eyes.

“Am- Am I dead?!” he stammered. “Did I just die?! What…” The man glanced down to his body, letting his hands go over his torso and stomach. “HA! You missed!” He let out a hysterical laugh. “You missed!! I’m not shot… I’m…” his eyes slowly disappeared behind his eyelids as the man fainted from the shock, and crumpled into a heap against the side of the staircase. Lena looked at the scene in disbelief for a moment, before angrily looking back at the shooter.

“ARE YOU INSANE?!”

Titus slowly lowered his gun, his hands shaking in the process, before looking back at Lena with a shocked expression. “I’m- I’m so sorry, I…” he swallowed nervously, “…I thought someone had broken in and… and…”

“YOU SHOULD STILL LOOK WHERE YOU’RE SHOOTING!! THIS IS HOW INNOCENT PEOPLE GET KILLED, TITUS!!” Lena breathed out in anger while Jess hurriedly stepped towards the unconscious Hector, who had started sliding down the stairs. Titus kept apologising profusely, but Lena didn’t listen, stepping down to him and grabbing the gun from his hands. She stepped back up to Jess, who was trying to manoeuvre Hector into a slightly more comfortable position. “Please look after him, Jess. And take this,” she gave the woman the gun, “and _don’t_ give it back to Titus.” Jess just nodded in response as both women shot the man in question a foul look.

By the time Lena returned to her private lab, her heartrate had slowed down to an acceptable rate again, the shock of almost getting shot by her own employee wearing off. She stepped into the small room, the floor of which was now littered with discarded pieces of metal and severed wires. Winn was wearing safety goggles and he was so concentrated on the task of putting in the last pieces of microscopic wirework, that he didn’t even look up when Lena stepped up next to him. “What took you so long?” he asked, still not looking away.

“I almost got killed,” Lena replied nervously.

“Be serious.”

“I _am_ being serious,” Lena retorted while putting her comm back into her ear. “What did I miss?”

“Alex thinks Kara cracked a rib.”

Lena’s heart froze in her chest. “WHAT?!”

“Yeah… apparently she’s trying to play it down, but obviously Alex sees right through her. Her skin is still bulletproof, but if her bones are able to break from the impact… she’s probably down to ten percent strength now…”

Lena looked at him with fear in her eyes and struggled to supress her panic, while Winn seemed unusually emotionless, his eyes firmly fixed on the task at hand. “And- and what about Superman?!” she asked unsteadily. “Did they call him?! Is he coming?!”

“No” Winn replied stoically, carefully manoeuvring the tiny wires into place.

“No?!” Lena exclaimed with wide eyes. “Why the hell not?! Kara is in serious danger out there!!”

“Because,” Winn started impassively, methodically turning the wires into place, “one; he is just as sick as Kara at the moment. Two; Metropolis is being attacked by the same floating balls that we are, _plus_ Hank Henshaw is there. And three; when he tried to go outside to help, Lois apparently threatened to divorce him, so he stayed put.”

Lena was struggling to keep her poise and her dignity as she let out an incredulous laugh. “Great. So Superman is whipped. Brilliant.”

“Hey, at least I finally have something in common with him.” Winn actually briefly glanced sideways, before turning his attention back to the nearly completed device. “Lena,” he started slowly, “you’re starting to freak me out. I thought _you_ were supposed to be the calm one.”

Lena let out a long breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “I just don’t understand how you do it,” she started while shaking her head, “I don’t get how any of you do it. How am I supposed to stay calm when Kara is risking her life?! I mean… this is Kara we’re talking about!!”

“It’s not that I’m calm, exactly,” Winn responded carefully, “I just know that everything will be fine as soon as we finish this thing… You also get used to it, I suppose” he added, still not looking away from the wirework in front of him. “Kara has risked herself for others so many times before today, and I’m sure she’ll keep doing it many times _after_ today. I mean… that’s just who she is. She puts other people first. I guess that’s why we all love her, right?” Lena swallowed, realising that the man’s words should made logical sense. But like so many other things about Kara; logic just wouldn’t apply. “For what it’s worth, I still think it’s sweet though…” Winn said, causing Lena to give him a surprised look, while the man kept fiddling with the wires in front of him, “…how much you care about her.”

“Yes, well,” Lena muttered weakly, looking at her feet, “she’s just… special to me.”

“I know she is…”

The  man suddenly clipped the end of the wire and took his goggles off. “Wires are done! Do you have the… stuff?” Lena just nodded as she unscrewed the lid on the small test tube and started pouring the old disinfectant into a measuring cup, making sure the amount was just right for the calculated density of the chemicals that were currently intoxicating the atmosphere. “Hold the device” she commanded, as she stepped up to their construction. The device was definitely not as polished as her brother’s; it was very obvious that it had been constructed in a terrible rush. It was shaped like a cube, in the same way that the second death star was shaped like a sphere, but the calculations all checked out. It was solid, and it would do its job. Hopefully…

Winn held the device in place, while Lena poured the contents of the measuring cup into the container for the dispersion. She emptied the cup, then Winn put the lid back on the container and screwed it into place. “We… we did it” he muttered. The duo gave each other a nervous smile. “So- so now we just have to activate it, right? We can-”

“Not here!!” Lena exclaimed, grabbing the man’s wrist before he pressed the activation button on the device. “We’re underground and there are no windows!! How do you expect anything to get into the earth’s atmosphere from down here?!”

“Oh, right… should we… go outside?”

“It’s not safe! There’s a small balcony on the first floor, we can activate it there.”

Winn gave a determined nod before carefully picking up their device and moving towards the door, while Lena followed suit. Before taking his third step, however, he suddenly stopped upon hearing his computer giving a distinctly negative sound. “No…” he suddenly moved back towards his laptop, putting the device back down on the table.

“What are you doing?!” Lena exclaimed incredulously, stepping closer again. “We need to cure everybody and give Kara her strength back!! What is-”

“The- the- the signature,” Winn stammered, gesturing to the screen, before he frantically started typing, “we- we use radiation signatures to identify dangerous substances in the area…”

“What does that have to do with anything?!”

“It picked up a Kryptonite signature…”

Lena’s heartbeat picked up, her panic returning to the surface as she scurried next to Winn and looked at the screen of the laptop. There was a satellite image of the city on display, with a green icon flashing over a specific point on the west side of town. Winn continued typing, going into the city’s security network again. He pulled up the feed of one of the nearby cameras and Lena could feel her stomach contorting. She supposed she should have expected as much… she probably should have known. But that didn’t make the image of her mother strolling down the street, in the exact same spot where the Kryptonite was supposed to be, any easier to digest.

She was dragging some sort of device behind her; in the same way that you would drag a suitcase with wheels. The device was of the same dark grey steel as the floating turrets that were assaulting the city right now, except this thing was a cylinder with a semi spherical top, and Lena couldn’t help but think that it looked like R2-D2 had joined the dark side. Her mother just kept on walking with long strides, paying no attention to the few people that hadn’t made it to the hospital and that were running past her in a panic, all of them being chased by the woman’s killing machines.

“Winn…” Lena started, feeling her panic intensify, “…she’s headed to the hospital. She knows Kara is there…”

Winn breathed heavily as he pressed the button on his comm. “Alex! Are you still at the police station?! Lillian Luthor has Kryptonite and she’s just a few blocks away from Kara! You need to intercept her! You need to-”

“ _I can’t do anything right now!!”_ There was a loud blast from the other side of the line and someone screamed in the distance. _“We’re holed up in the NCPD!! We’re just trying to keep those flying things out of here!! You need to cure Kara, so she can get us out of this mess!!”_

“But-”

“She’s right, Winn,” Lena interrupted, fixing the man with a serious look. “Go and activate the dispersion, that way Kara will at least have her full strength back. Oh, and if you see someone laying on the stairs, don’t worry; he’s just unconscious.”

“But- but… what about your mother…”

“I’ll deal with it.”

Winn’s face dropped, giving her an incredulous look. “Lena… you can’t…”

“Do you want Kara to die while we stand here arguing about this?!”

Winn seemed to look for a retort but he couldn’t find one. He darted his eyes between Lena and the device a few times, before picking the thing up and giving Lena one last hesitant look. “Just…” he swallowed nervously, “…don’t do anything stupid.” With that, he ran towards the door, flinging it open and scurrying towards the first floor. Lena immediately made a beeline for her safe, because first of all she had to check something. She had to make sure that this situation wasn’t her fault. She crouched down and put the code in before opening the safe, immediately grasping the small lead box and lifted the lid. Lena actually sighed with relief upon seeing the glowing green rock, realising that however her mother had gotten her hands on Kryptonite again, she hadn’t stolen it from her safe…

“Lena…”

The young CEO gave another sigh, not needing to turn around to recognise the voice. “Hello, dad…” she closed the lead box and put it back in its place, before turning her head to the side and seeing the apparition of Lionel Luthor step up beside her with a grave expression in place. “Lena…” he started, “…you know, don’t you? You know that… this is going to be it.”

Lena let out another sigh. “Yes, dad. I know…”

She realised that this couldn’t possibly be another coincidence. That her mother roaming the streets freely, that the city being in chaos while people were running and panicking could only mean one thing: This was the moment her father’s vision was supposed to become reality.

“If you know, then why did you offer to go after your mother?” Lionel pleaded, apparently too torn to actually be angry at her right now. “Why would you try to get closer to her, if you already know what is going to happen?”

Lena steadied herself, looking up at her father and trying to channel Winn’s controlled demeanour, despite Kara being just a few miles removed from her mother’s Kryptonite. She collected her poise and her dignity, and answered the man as calmly as she could: “Because one; mother is headed towards the hospital with Kryptonite on her. Two; nobody else can stop her right now. And three; I’ve changed the future once before…” Lena swallowed, thinking of her assistant  “…and I’m going to do it again.”

With that, Lena looked back at her safe and reached into it. She reached past the small lead box, and past the framed picture of herself and her brother holding surfboards. She reached past the stack of paperwork containing her will and the deed to the Luthor mansion. She reached past the partly deconstructed Daxam Drive, grabbing an object from the back of the safe. She pulled out her arm… now holding the gun she had never actually used since buying it.

She got up and headed to the door, bending down to grab her coat from the floor on the way, before putting it on. Lena put her gun in the right pocket of the coat and she was just about to step out of her lab, when her father stepped in front of her and gave her a serious look. “Lena…” he said intently, “if you’re going to do this… if you’re going to stop your mother… you know you can’t hesitate, right?”

Lena let out a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment. As she pulled her hand out of her pocket, she felt her fingers graze against Kara’s glasses, reminding her why she needed to do this. She opened her eyes again and looked at her father.

“I won’t.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The streets of National City smelled of smoke and burnt flesh.

That was the first thing Lena had noticed when she’d stepped out of her building. Of course, the fresh craters in the floor and the smoke coming from several places in the distance also soon made their presence known. Not to mention the screams and the sounds of firing bullets coming from disturbingly close by. Lena had just made it to the end of the street when she’d heard the blast coming from behind her, their device apparently having been activated by Winn, and she’d seen a hazy cloud disperse from the direction of her building. Lena worried whether their solution had actually worked while she swiftly made her way through the eerily empty streets of the city. She didn’t have to worry for long, however, because a mere two blocks from the hospital she suddenly saw two figures flying past in the sky up above. They’d flown by in a split second, but Lena had managed to see their waving capes and their green skin before they disappeared in the direction of the NCPD.

Lena felt relieved that Kara would at least have her strength back, but she also realised that it wouldn’t do her much good if her mother managed to get near her with Kryptonite. She was about to round a corner into the last street on her way to the hospital, when a woman suddenly ran into her. Lena staggered backwards while the woman stumbled onto one knee, before trying to get up with a terrorised expression on her face. “Please…” she breathed, sounding scared and exhausted, “…please... help…”

At that moment, one of Lillian Luthor’s flying turrets rounded the same corner that the woman had come running from. The woman whimpered as she tried to crawl away and Lena, without really thinking about it, stepped in front of her and effectively shielded her from the piece of flying metal. Lena flinched instinctively when the floating sphere suddenly emitted its thin beam of light and scanned her from top to bottom. “ _Human interference”_ the metallic voice sounded. _“Please step aside.”_ Lena glanced behind her, noticing the woman trembling on her knees while giving her a pleading look. _“Step aside or be terminated.”_

Lena’s nostrils flared, as she looked back at her mother’s killing device while reaching into her coat. Her fingers grabbed at her gun, but before anything else could happen, the floating machine was suddenly enveloped by a metallic net that came shooting at it from the side. The floating device momentarily deviated sideways because of the impact, before it got shot by some sort of blast. The floating piece of metal didn’t seem damaged, but it got forced even further of course; bouncing of a wall several times as it seemingly tried to coordinate itself.

Lena looked back to see where the blast had come from, seeing none other than The Guardian step into view. “Take cover,” he spoke in an unusually low voice, “I’ll keep it busy.” Lena noticed the woman who had been crouching behind her immediately flee the scene, then she gave the man a small smile. “Thanks, James” she breathed out, before stepping into the direction of the hospital once again.

“No, I’m… I’m The Guardian…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Lena didn’t pay attention to the man as he resumed his fight with the floating machine, because she’d just seen someone step past the intersection.

As she rounded the last corner and saw the hospital looming over the scene at the end of the very long street, she saw her mother looking at the structure as well. The woman had her back turned to Lena and she was setting down the cylindrical device in front of her. Lena looked on, as her mother pressed a button and caused a small keyboard to slide out of the device, before starting to type something. Very slowly, Lena reached into her right pocket and pulled out her gun, realising her hand was shaking. She knew she didn’t have a choice… she knew that her mother had Kryptonite on her… she knew that if she had to choose between the life of Kara Danvers and that of her mother, one was clearly worth more than the other… but her limbs weren’t getting the message, as she just stood there for a few seconds, staring at her mother typing away on the small keyboard.

“Lena…”

The young CEO flinched at the sound of her father’s voice, who had appeared beside her. “…just take the shot” he pleaded. “It’s either her life or yours, Lena, you know what I saw. Please, Lena, just-”

“Dad,” Lena interrupted, “just let me do this my way, alright?” She stepped closer to her mother, taking the comm out of her ear and putting it in her pocket to ensure she wouldn’t be distracted, while not even noticing the incredulous look Lionel was giving her.

“No!! Lena…”

She stepped up right behind her mother, who was too concentrated on her typing to even notice her, and finally raised her gun at the woman before speaking in a cold voice: “Whatever it is you’re doing, stop it right now.”

Lillian Luthor actually _did_ stop what she was doing, turning her head to look at Lena over her shoulder, giving her one of her condescending smiles. “Well, well…” she turned around completely, facing her daughter as well as the loaded gun, “so you decided to make an appearance after all.” Her smile faded as she looked her up and down with cold eyes like she always did, before fixing her with an icy glare. “What are you going to do, Lena? Are you going to shoot me?” she asked, still with the same tone of condescension and not looking all that intimidated for someone who was staring down a firearm.

“Yes…” Lena started, responding to the woman’s glare with one of her own, trying her hardest to call on the lessons that had been taught to her by the very woman she was now threatening, “…that’s exactly what’s going to happen… if you don’t put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees right now.”

Lillian’s smile actually returned to her face at that statement. She slowly let out a cold and measured laugh and Lena could feel shivers going down her spine. “I don’t think you will” the woman stated as she turned back around and resumed her typing. “You could have shot me while I wasn’t looking, but you didn’t. Don’t forget that I raised you,” she continued, as Lena was starting to feel like she might throw up, “I know you well enough to say without a doubt that you wouldn’t kill your own mother,” she looked back over her shoulder at Lena and gave her a smile that seemed to be meant to mock her, “would you, now?” Without waiting for a response she turned her head back and continued whatever she was typing in on the cylindrical device.

“Lena!” her father’s ghost urged from beside her, “just end this right now! Don’t give her a chance to hurt you or anybody else! Please, just-”

“I didn’t shoot you, to give you a chance,” Lena said, trying to keep her voice steady and still pointing her gun at the woman, “a chance to surrender instead of getting brutally murdered. A chance _you_ didn’t afford any of the aliens of National City. A chance Lex didn’t even afford innocent bystanders in Metropolis two years ago. I’m giving you a chance because I don’t go around pretending to be everyone’s judge, jury and executioner. I’m giving you a chance… because I’m a better person than you!”

Lillian’s head suddenly snapped up. She stopped her typing and turned back around, her face tainted with a fury she rarely displayed, and stepped closer to her daughter. “You want to talk about someone playing judge, jury and executioner?!” she asked slowly, her voice dripping with anger. “You want to talk about not giving anyone a chance?!” She stepped up, effectively pressing her own collarbone against the gun as Lena swallowed nervously. “Who is it that goes around judging people, pretending to be an enforcer of  the law?!” Lillian barked angrily. “Who is it that doesn’t give anyone a choice on whether they want to submit to some god-like power that doesn’t even belong on this planet?! I’m the one that gives people a choice!! I give people the choice to stand up and defend themselves!! I even gave _you_ a choice!!” She looked her daughter up and down again, disgust visible on her face. “I gave you countless chances, Lena… I gave you so many chances to see the error of your ways and to do the right thing. But no… you just keep defending those vile creatures. You keep pretending that someone who has absolute physical power over everyone, has the right to walk among us and pretend to be a god! You’re just-”

“You are blind, mother.”

Lillian’s eyes widened at the interruption, while the hand with which Lena was holding her gun was now shaking dangerously. “You’re blind to your own hypocrisy” Lena forced out. “What were you trying to do right now, if not playing god with the lives of all the aliens in that hospital? You think that Supergirl doesn’t have the right to have power over anyone… but what about you, then? What gives you the right to choose who lives or dies? You claim that Supergirl and her cousin have too much power, but they’re far from the only ones. You have more power yourself than most ordinary people… so did Lex… and so do I… There are many forms of power and yes, Supergirl could kill anyone she wants, but that’s the difference between her and the likes of you: She chooses to save lives with her power... you use it  to kill.”

Lillian’s fury seemed to have been subdued, her cold and condescending look returning as she started speaking again: “So _I’m_ the hypocrite, am I?” She let out a humourless laugh as she shook her head. “Your views on making choices are already childish, Lena… but they lose all meaning when you’re preaching them while holding someone at gunpoint.” Lillian’s eyes dropped to the gun that was still pressed to her chest, before fixing her eyes back onto Lena. “Isn’t killing someone the only reason you’re here? Aren’t you just here to save Supergirl’s life by sacrificing mine? How is that not playing god? Aren’t you the judge, jury and executioner in this case?”

“I am defending innocent people” Lena bit back.

“I AM DEFENDING MANKIND!!”

Lena shook her head in disbelief at the angry conviction in her mother’s eyes. “You’re just afraid of what you don’t understand, mother. Has no one ever told you… that you can’t live in fear?”

Lillian scoffed again and briefly kept looking at her daughter intently. Then, all of a sudden, she grabbed Lena’s right wrist and twisted her arm while stepping uncomfortably close. Lena yelped in pain, her finger gracing dangerously close to the trigger, as her mother manoeuvred the gun so that it was right under the older woman’s chin.

“If you’re so sure of yourself,” Lillian hissed, still holding Lena in place, “what are you waiting for?” Lena felt torn as she looked into the older woman’s eyes, while Lillian was giving her a cold, challenging look. “If your morals are so high and mighty as you claim them to be, just kill me…” the woman gave her daughter a devilish grin, “…if all this nonsense is something you really believe… just pull the trigger.” Lena tried to pull away from the woman, but Lillian kept holding tightly onto her wrist, the gun still pointing right at the older woman’s jawline. “Go on. Are you waiting for something? Just kill me, Lena… prove that you really believe all your self-righteous garbage… just pull the trigger.”

“Lena!” her father exclaimed. “What are you doing?! Just end this madness!! Just shoot her!! Save yourself, for god’s sake!!”

Lena was shaking now, and with both her parents shouting at her to kill someone, she’d never liked her family any less. She looked up at her mother’s maniacal expression, painfully realising that she still wasn’t able to separate the idea of a mother figure from the woman in front of her. That no matter what the woman did, she still couldn’t bring herself to pull that goddamn trigger… The older woman eventually scoffed and pushed her arm out of the way and Lena just let it dangle beside her body, the gun falling against her thigh, as she felt completely powerless.

“I always knew you were weak, Lena,” the older woman sneered as she took a step back, “even if you didn’t have all those misguided views about aliens… you never had the mental strength to do anything of significance.” She turned halfway around, briefly typing on the small keyboard with just her left hand, before looking back to her right side and into her daughter’s eyes. “I’ve been way too kind to you Lena… but for old time’s sake… for Lionel’s sake…” Lena frowned at the woman, while the ghost of her father gave Lillian an incredulous look, “…I will give you one last chance.” She sighed before fixing Lena with an intent look. “Join Cadmus… you’re still very smart, Lena, and we could always use someone of your intellect. Given time, and perhaps a more collaborative attitude on your part, I’m sure I can teach you to get rid of that spineless streak of yours. Just remember this;” she lowered her voice to a menacing tone, “this is your last chance. Cadmus is what our last name will be remembered for, Lena. But if you’re not with us… then you’re against us.”

Lena hung her head down and actually huffed out a small laugh, not sure why her response came to her mind so easily. Maybe it was just the absurdity of the whole situation, or maybe it was the shape of the device that was standing behind her mother. Maybe it was because of what she was actually supposed to be doing this morning. But whatever it was, she gave her mother a smug look and, with way too much pride in her voice for someone who was saying something so silly at such a serious time, she gave her answer: “Only a Sith deals in absolutes.” Lena actually gave a loud and mirthless laugh at the confused looks both of her parents were giving her. But if she couldn’t kill the woman… if she was truly incapable of killing her own mother… then she could at least make a fool out of her.

“I knew you wouldn’t have good taste in movies,” Lena scoffed, while her mother was looking at her like she’d lost her mind. “You also have terrible taste in technological devices,” she continued. “Besides that thing over there looking like a cheap R2 knockoff, you also have absolutely no idea how Lex’s device actually works, do you?” Lena snickered, as her father was starting to look genuinely scared at the sight of Lillian’s expression. “I mean, if you actually knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t have missed dr. Runnels rigging the device, now would you?”

Lillian’s expression turned incredulous. “How do you-”

“And of course, if you hadn’t been wasting your time arguing with me, you might have noticed that the atmosphere isn’t toxic anymore.” Lillian’s eyes went impossibly wide. “Oh yeah, I fixed that,” Lena added smugly. “Which brings me to your flying metal balls… truly your style, mother: more brawn than brain, like with all your operations. I should’ve known that you’d be the kind of person to build miniature death stars. But of course, now that a weakened Supergirl is no longer a factor,” she smiled as she looked up at the hospital at the end of the street, “they’re as useless as scrapped metal.”

Lillian snapped her head around to look at the hospital as well, where as if on cue, one of the woman’s flying turrets suddenly exploded after being blasted by a blue laser, before Supergirl flew into view and went chasing after the next one. Lena laughed at Kara’s impeccable timing, as Lillian turned her head around while looking beside herself with anger. “So as you can see, mother, you’re… how should I put this? …you’re a _weak_ scientist.” Lionel was now darting his eyes between the two women, looking genuinely scared, while Lillian was seemingly trembling with anger at this point. “Say what you will about my morals or my mental strength, but at least I’m good at my job. While you…” Lena took a step closer, her mother’s expression turning incredulous, “…you are absolutely useless at being an evil bitch.”

Lillian took a deep breath, her face a mixture of disbelief and rage, as she looked back at the hospital where her metal constructions were being methodically chased down and destroyed by Supergirl. She breathed out, seemingly looking down for a moment. She turned back to face Lena and looked at her with nothing but contempt, seemingly trying to regain some composure. “Fine…” Lillian huffed, “…have it your way.”

In one swift motion, Lillian pulled out a gun from the pocket of her coat and pointed it at Lena’s forehead. Time seemed to slow sown as Lena’s right hand twitched, but she couldn’t move, feeling like she was frozen in place. She swallowed, feeling worthless… she’d been completely incapable to put a stop to her mother… but at least Kara would be alright. The DEO would soon be here, after all, and they would stop Lillian… Kara would be alright… Lena closed her eyes, the image of her mother scowling at her the last thing she saw. The sound of her father begging her to do something ringing in her ears. As her eyelids completely shut, however, the last thing that was going through her mind was only Kara.

Kara would be alright… she would be alright… and hopefully… Kara wouldn’t miss her too much…

 

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the street.

 

Lena opened her eyes and blinked a few times, surprised by the strange sight before her. She was still looking at her mother, and there was still a gun pointing at her forehead. The older woman was still looking at her, but her expression was different; almost… incredulous. As Lillian Luthor looked down at her own torso, Lena followed her gaze, her eyes widening at the sight of the blood that was starting to flow out of the bullet hole in the older woman’s chest. Lena blinked in confusion, but as she looked back up at her mother’s face, she noticed that the woman was looking to the side, where St. Benedict street met the intersection. As Lena looked in that same direction, everything suddenly made sense. There, about a hundred feet removed from them, kneeling behind a dumpster on the corner of the street, was Maggie Sawyer. She had a cut on the side of her face and her knee was bleeding profusely, but she just leaned back against the dumpster, giving the duo a determined look… as she slowly lowered her smoking gun.

Lena looked back at her mother, who had lowered her own gun and was still looking completely incredulous while taking a step backwards, as the blood kept spreading from the wound in her chest. The woman opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound came out. Instead, she took another step backwards and lost her balance. Lena looked on at the scene, feeling like her mother’s fall appeared to be happening very slowly. She watched, as her mother tumbled backwards and finally… with no poise… and no dignity… Lillian Luthor fell on her back, her mouth open and her vacant eyes staring off into the sky.

She was dead.

Lena stared at the woman’s motionless body for a moment. She kept on staring, without her mind actually processing the image, as it was apparently more concentrated on replaying various memories: The unfamiliar sight of a strange and large mansion, where a friendly boy and a pretty lady had greeted her. Her new mother telling her that she might be a true Luthor. The first time her new mother had reminded her that she was _not_ a true Luthor. The first time that she’d experienced the lashing with an old, brown leather belt. The day she finally moved out of that house and left for boarding school, her mother closing the door behind her before she’d reached the end of the driveway. Her mother methodically cleaning Lex’s room after he’d gone too far, hardly displaying any emotion. The woman telling her that she loved her, only to get her to open Lex’s vault. The woman rescuing her from an evil spaceship, and exploiting the occasion to leave Kara to die on that same vessel. All the wrongdoings, all the cold looks, all the lashings and all the times she’d willingly toyed with her emotions… it didn’t really matter. As Lena let her eyes go over the woman’s body once more, it apparently didn’t matter, because the sight still caused a sting in her chest.

“It’s over…”

Lena looked to her side, where her father let a trembling hand go over his face, looking like he could finally breathe easy for the first time in years. “It’s finally over…” He huffed out an incredulous breath, before turning to the side and giving his daughter a small smile. “You’re safe now… you’re finally safe.” He inhaled deeply, looking over in the direction of the hospital. “Both of you… you and Kara will both be safe…”

Lena was still reeling from the image of her mother dying in front of her, so it took her a moment to process the man’s words. “Kara…?” her eyes widened, looking towards the end of the street as well, where Supergirl was still dealing with the last few floating metal spheres, before turning her head back to her father in disbelief. “You knew?” she asked breathlessly.

Lionel just laughed at that, turning to face his daughter completely and giving her the broadest smile she’d ever seen from him. “Of course I knew…” he spoke softly, seemingly glowing, still serenely smiling as his entire posture relaxed, “…there’s only _one_ person that looks at you like that.”

Lena opened her mouth, not sure what she was about to say, but she didn’t get the chance to figure it out. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched dimmed beams of light start to come from the outline of her father’s figure. Lena felt her breaths become laboured as she frantically searched for something meaningful to say. “Dad, I- I just… I…” she kept stammering, hopelessly searching for any form of articulate wording and fighting the burning feeling in her eyes, while her father just kept smiling at her as the light slowly but steadily got stronger and started moving over his body. “I… I’ll miss you” she eventually forced out, the image of her father getting blurry because of the water in her eyes. Lena tried to swallow down the lump in her throat as her father just kept smiling at her.

He spoke again, just before the light moved over his face with a voice that echoed as if coming from far away: “If there’s consciousness beyond death… I will too.”

Lena huffed out a small laugh, wiping at her eyes so she wouldn’t miss the last images she would ever see of her father. The man’s face was now completely gone, the light moving swiftly towards his stomach, where it eventually merged together. Lena felt her bottom lip quiver as the light became one, then slowly started pulling apart. She kept her eyes fixed on the glowing orbs of light that were now forming, as she watched them float further away from each other, before they hovered in place in the air for a moment. As Lena gave a soft sniff, the lights started slowly fading out. They just kept dimming and dimming, while Lena kept looking on until the very end, until finally… they were completely gone. Lena was left standing alone in the middle of the street, right beyond the intersection of St. Benedict street and Camillus lane, standing beside the dead body of her mother and the woman’s odd-looking device as she let out an unsteady breath.

 

After almost 14 years of watching over his daughter, Lionel Luthor had finally passed on.

 

Lena took several breaths to steady herself and, just as she started to realise that she now had no more parents of any kind left, she suddenly saw something in the distance speeding towards the ground. She looked to the side, where on the opposite end of the long street that lead to the hospital, Supergirl was flying towards the pavement while pushing one of those metal spheres in front of her. The sound of the impact was thunderous, as the metal device apparently exploded upon making contact with the ground and left a deep crater in the street. Through the smoke, Lena could see Supergirl easily climbing out of the crater, before seemingly shaking her head and dusting herself off while facing the hospital. Lena started smiling, because she suddenly had a thought. She put her unutilised gun back in her right pocket as she pulled out the DEO’s comm from her left, putting it in her ear and pressing the button before speaking: “Wasn’t  that a little excessive, Supergirl?” she teased.

Lena could vaguely see the other woman stop her motions in the distance, before hearing her voice from the other end of the line. _“Lena?! Is that you?! How did-”_

“Turn around.”

In the distance, Lena could see Supergirl doing just that, although she was too far away to see the woman’s expression. “Guess what?” Lena asked with a small smile.

_“What?”_

“We did it.”

Lena smiled as she heard Kara’s beautiful laugh coming from the other end, before flinching in surprise at Alex’s voice suddenly sounding from the comm: _“LENA LUTHOR, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET ON THIS LINE?!”_

_“Alex!!”_ Kara exclaimed. _“That’s not very nice!! She just saved everyone again!!”_

_“I don’t care!! She’s still listening in on what is supposed to be a secure line!! Winn, if you’re listening, you are in serious trouble!!”_

_“Oh, lighten up Alex,”_ Kara said dismissively, _“I think we should make Lena an honorary member of the DEO anyway! Lena, what do you say?!”_

_“Whoa, whoa,”_ Alex interjected, _“you are not qualified to make those decisions and I definitely don’t approve!”_

_“Aleeeex,”_ Kara whined, _“don’t be a party pooper…”_

Lena felt some good humour return to her, as she laughed while listening to the two bickering sisters. She was just about to stand up for her trusted sidekick, when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her: “Well… this was certainly unexpected.”

Lena’s face fell, her insides twisting with fear as she slowly turned around to confirm her suspicions. She inhaled sharply, because she saw her mother… crouching near her own corpse. Lillian’s crouching figure reached out for the gun that was lying near the body on the ground, only for the woman’s fingers to go straight through the weapon. Lena swallowed, watching the ghost of her mother straighten up, before fixing her daughter with a very familiar glare. They both stood there for a moment, before Lillian squinted her eyes at her and started stepping closer.

“You can see me…”

Lena clenched her jaw, as her mother stepped up in front of her and gave a condescending smirk. “Well… that explains how you knew about dr. Runnels,” the older woman sneered. “I’ll just say this: you should have shot me when you had the chance.”

Lena raised one eyebrow, trying to mask her discomfort. “Really? So if I’d killed you, you wouldn’t have come back to torment me?” she scoffed incredulously.

“Oh, I’m not here to torment you, Lena.” The woman gave a wide grin that made Lena swallow nervously. “There is just one last thing that I couldn’t miss seeing.”

Lena frowned in confusion as her mother seemed to look past her and into the long street that stretched out behind her. “What do you-”

_“Target Locked”_

Lena’s stomach dropped at the sound of the metallic voice sounding behind her. She quickly turned back around, her eyes widening at the sight of her mother’s cylindrical device displaying a flashing red light while beeping loudly. The semi spherical top suddenly started rising up, displaying some sort of compartment underneath, but as Lena followed the strange lifting motion, her eyes suddenly shifted focus and noticed what was happening down the street. The smoke had almost completely cleared and she could see Kara casually walking closer. Lena darted her eyes between the device and Kara, before pressing the button on her comm. “Kara…”

The rest of her thought was interrupted by the device making a loud noise, similar to that of a soldering iron, before something suddenly shot out of the compartment that had lifted the top of the device. Despite the velocity at which the object launched towards Kara, she saw that it looked like a regular missile, albeit smaller and of the same grey steel as the other devices, but Lena felt that something was terribly wrong. Because she saw Kara noticing the mundane looking missile as it sped towards her, she saw Kara plant her feet and stick her chest out, ready do let the missile disintegrate itself on her invulnerable skin… and she heard the ghost of her mother give a sadistic laugh. “Kara!!” Lena shouted into her comm, “Don’t-”

Suddenly, right before the missile reached Kara, it exploded. Lena’s eyes widened, as she saw tiny pieces of rubble flying in every direction and she threw herself behind the cylindrical device, covering her head and hearing the rubble clatter against the other side. Lena also heard some of the pieces fly past the cylindrical device that was effectively shielding her at this point, and she waited a moment before lifting her head. When she did, however, she could see the apparition of her mother still standing up and looking at the long street. Lena frowned, feeling extremely worried, because her mother was showing off a wide grin and a maniacal glint in her eyes. Lena slowly got up, carefully peering past the device as she did, before coming to a full standing position. She stepped around it, looking at Kara who was still standing in the middle of the long street, as the blonde hero seemed to be frozen in place. Lena frowned in confusion, moving her hand to her comm while she stepped around the cylindrical device that had fired the missile. And when she did… she saw it.

Lena’s hand dropped back down as she looked at the other side of the cylindrical device. It was dented in several places, as the tiny pieces of rubble that had come flying from the missile seemed to be stuck in it. Except it wasn’t rubble. Lena’s heart started pounding… she could feel her limbs start trembling, because the tiny, almost microscopic shards that were stuck in the dark grey metal were emitting a sick green glow. Lena looked back at Kara, who still seemed to be frozen in place and as Lena took a step closer… she noticed the tiny streams of blood starting to come from countless places all over Kara’s body. Lena gasped as she subconsciously took another step an saw the veins in the woman’s neck light up with that same sick green glow. The miniscule shards of Kryptonite appeared to have hit her everywhere, as the blood started flowing more profusely; coming from her torso, her legs, her arms and even parts of her face. Lena stood petrified, while Kara lifted her head and seemed to look at her. The bleeding superhero opened her mouth… and without saying a word… fell to the ground.

“KARA!!”

Lena’s panicked voice echoed through the street as she started running towards the fallen hero, barely registering her mother’s maniacal laughter coming from behind her. She fell onto her knees, frantically trying to move Kara upright and cursing the tears that had started falling from her eyes, because she needed to see her. Kara needed to be okay. These things should only happen in her nightmares. This could not be real.

“Kara…” Lena pleaded in a cracking voice, putting her right arm around her shoulders and trying to lift her in a seated position, “…Kara… stay with me… listen to me… Kara?”

The alien woman was gasping for air, her veins still giving off that sick green glow as she opened and closed her mouth, seemingly trying to speak. Her eyes seemed unfocused and the left one had been hit by one of the shards, as it was bleeding profusely and obscuring Kara’s beautiful blue iris in the process. Despite all that, Kara still tried to look at her as she kept opening and closing her mouth. “L- Le- Le- n- en-”

“Shhh,” Lena hushed, wincing at the horrible gurgling sounds that Kara made as she tried to speak; the blood starting to come out of her mouth as well. “D- don’t strain yourself,” Lena whimpered, her tears still falling, “you’ll- you’ll be okay… you’ll see… you…” Lena was desperately trying to stop the bleeding, pressing her left arm across Kara’s stomach, but it was coming from everywhere… The shards seemed  to have pierced through her body almost everywhere, and Lena could do nothing but push her trembling arm against the woman’s stomach as her tears just kept on flowing. “HELP!!” Lena screamed as she looked around, her desperation getting a complete hold over her. “SOMEBODY HELP!!”

There were probably no more than fifteen seconds between Lena falling to her knees and Maggie limping into her view but to Lena, who felt like her entire world was unravelling before her eyes, it might as well have been an eternity.

Just before that happened, however… just before Maggie came limping towards the two women from behind the dumpster that had shielded her from the shards. Just before The Guardian came spurting around the corner and caught sight of the horrible scene. Just before the ghost of Lillian Luthor began emitting light, and started passing on at the sight of her sworn enemy lying on the ground and bleeding out… Someone who would’ve been standing with their back towards the hospital might have seen it. Someone standing right in the middle of Camillus lane would have seen it: Lena Luthor kneeling on the ground, while looking down and crying. The ghost of Lillian Luthor standing several feet behind her while laughing at the scene. Someone standing in just the right spot, would have definitely seen it:

 

The first part of Lionel’s vision coming true…

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For an image of the final scene, see my profile pic.  
> Final chapter will be up on Thursday.


	16. Kara Zor-El

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “…’cause I can’t help falling in love with you.”

There were four…

 

There were four abandoned objects lying around the unusually empty building of the DEO. On the ground floor, right in front of the stairs, were both of Lena’s high heels. They hadn’t been consciously taken off. Lena had just stumbled out of them in her hurry to get up the staircase, miraculously managing to not break her neck, as they’d fallen all the way down to the bottom step. On the first floor, right in front of the door leading into a long corridor, was Winn’s computer bag. It had gotten stuck behind the door handle, right as Winn was about to catch up with the rest of the group, and he’d just wiggled out of the strap before running towards his friends. A little further along in that same corridor, The Guardian’s mask lay abandoned on the floor, right in the spot where James had taken it off after depositing Kara’s crimson-drenched body on the gurney.

All these objects were connected with one another. Not just by the owners’ panic and fear, but also physically: by the trail of blood that went from the entrance, up the stairs and all the way to the corridor where six people were pushing a gurney towards the med-bay. More accurately; dr. Hamilton and Alex were pushing, while frantically discussing how to get so many shards that were so unbelievably small, out of all those places in Kara’s body. Winn was running beside them, trying to come up with suggestions, but he wasn’t being of any use in his panicked state. A few feet behind them, James and Maggie were struggling to keep up, as the man was supporting the limping detective by her waist. On the other side of the gurney Lena was running along in a dazed state, her tears almost dried up, looking at Kara’s ragged breaths and increasingly pale skin and green glowing veins while only vaguely registering the discussion that was going on.

This wasn’t real. This wasn’t actually happening. This couldn’t possibly be reality. She was not dying. It was not real. It was _not_ real.

“Alex!”

Alex momentarily stopped and turned around, as dr. Hamilton pushed Kara into the med-bay and Maggie frantically limped closer to her girlfriend, who was visibly shaking. “Alex,” Maggie repeated, “you can’t go in there… not like this…”

“I- I have to,” Alex retorted in an unsteady voice, “she- she’s weakened but her biology is still alien, no- nobody knows her as well as I do, I- I have to…”

“But Alex…”

The woman didn’t listen anymore, as she stepped after dr. Hamilton and closed the door behind her. Maggie cursed under her breath as she limped towards the door and pushed the handle, apparently finding it locked. “Alex!” She slammed her hand against the door and tried the handle again but it wouldn’t budge. “Alex, open up!” She slammed against the door a few more times, before eventually giving up and turning around, leaning against it and sighing loudly.

Meanwhile, Lena just stood staring at the window of the med-bay, despite the fact that the blinds had just been closed, still with a vacant look in her eyes. As she glanced down towards her left hand that was still covered in Kara’s blood, she was feeling numb, her mind incapable to wrap itself around the situation, and barely noticing the voices speaking around her.

“There’s no way, man…” Winn muttered, apparently on the verge of tears, “…there’s no way they can get all those things out. There’s at least a hundred of them… they can’t… who knows how deep they went…”

“Hey, hey,” James hurriedly stepped away from Maggie and past Lena, as he laid a hand on Winn’s shoulder, “don’t think like that. They’ll manage, you’ll see…”

“How?!” Winn exclaimed, “how- how- how are they supposed to get all those things out of her b- before she bleeds out?!”

“I…” James looked back at the obscured window, where Lena was standing unnecessarily close to it, “I… I don’t know…” he sighed.

Lena was still staring ahead, as if she would develop x-ray vision if she stared at the closed blinds long enough, while the guilt was slowly starting to claw its way through her consciousness. All of this wouldn’t have happened if she’d just shot her mother. If she’d just pulled the trigger before the woman had the chance to activate her device, or put in coordinates, or whatever the hell she’d been typing. If she just hadn’t been such a coward, this wouldn’t be happening. This was her own fault… it was all her fault…

Lena didn’t hear the sound of Maggie taking a seat on the floor beside the door while grimacing and holding her leg. She didn’t hear the whispered words of encouragement from James to his friend. There were other muttered words too; about J’onn and M’gann still being busy securing the streets, about Lyra already recovering, but Lena didn’t hear any of it. Even as the minutes slowly ticked away, she only heard the sound of her own fears and nightmares running in circles inside her head. Because this was not the same. The sting she’d felt when her mother had died earlier was very real, but this was not the same. The fact that Lionel wouldn’t be there anymore after she’d effectively gotten a second chance at having a father had genuinely upset her, but this was _not_ the same. Whatever her parents had meant to her in life, their fates had been written on the wall for a long a time. But this was not the same, because it shouldn’t be Kara in there fighting for her life. If anyone should be in there, Lena thought bitterly, it was the coward who could’ve prevented all this. It should be her in there with a hundred shards stuck in her body, but not Kara. It should be anyone else, but not Kara. Anyone… but not her Kara.

If Kara died, it would be her fault…

“Lena…”

If Kara died, she would never forgive herself…

“Lena…”

Kara couldn’t die… she simply couldn’t…

“Lena!”

“What?!” Lena snapped her head around in annoyance, only for her breath to completely escape her lungs.

There, at the other side of the corridor in which they were all gathered, stood Kara. Not in her Supergirl outfit, not covered in blood, in fact not looking harmed in any way. She was just standing there looking at Lena, in those ugly brown pants of hers and a baby blue shirt, wearing glasses that Lena was pretty sure were supposed to be in the pocket of her coat. “No…” Lena stepped closer as if in trance, staring at the alien woman with wide eyes as she looked her up and down. She stretched out her arm towards the reporter as she came to the other side of the corridor and Kara, looking slightly confused, did the same. As Lena took her final step, their hands met… and very slowly she saw all her fingers move straight through Kara’s hand one by one, not making any contact at all. Lena just let out a whimper as Kara retracted her hand and looked at it, her eyebrows raised as if it suddenly made sense.

“O…”

Lena’s heart broke in two.

 

“NOOOOO!!!”

Lena’s guttural scream cut through the silence like a blade, as she fell to her knees and started hyperventilating, the tears escaping her eyes as if someone had suddenly opened the floodgates. “NOT YOU!!! PLEASE NOT YOU!!!”

Behind her realisation set in, as Winn put his hands behind his head and turned away, apparently not able to stand the sight, and started sobbing. James moved his hands in front of his face in disbelief and Maggie looked horrified for a moment, before struggling back to her feet and banging on the locked door. “Alex!! Baby, open the door!! Let me in, Alex!!”

“Please…” Lena wheezed out, her entire body forcing ragged breaths in and out, as she tried to speak through her sobs, “not you… you can’t leave me… not you…”

“Lena…”

Kara gave her an understanding look and leaned down, seemingly reaching out to her, before remembering she couldn’t touch her anymore, “…I don’t really think I have a choice” she breathed out. She gave a small smile, maybe trying to look reassuring or trying to be comforting somehow, but Lena’s sobs kept coming as she shook her head and tried to force out words, despite her worst nightmare taking shape before her eyes.

“No,” Lena wheezed, still fighting to just form words, “what- what am I supposed to do… what am I supposed to do without you?”

“The same thing you’ve always been doing,” Kara said while giving a soft smile. “Being an amazing person… using L-Corp to do good…”

“WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MATTER?!” Lena shouted, her poise and her dignity long forgotten, “WHAT DOES THAT MATTER IF YOU’RE NOT HERE?!”

“Don’t say that,” Kara breathed out, looking way too calm. Lena would usually never get enough of the woman’s smile, but it was way too calm. It was way too serene, and way too similar to the look on the faces of the ghosts who would start passing on. Not Kara… not her Kara. “You’re gonna be okay, Lena,” she said while still smiling reassuringly, as Lena could feel her panic rising. “As long as I know that you’re okay-”

“I’LL NEVER BE OKAY!!” Lena’s frantic breaths continued as she suddenly reached into her pocket. “Do you hear me? I… I refuse…” she lifted her shaking hand up, putting the gun it was now holding against the side of her head, while Kara’s eyes widened and she finally seemed to lose her calm demeanour. “Don’t- don’t you dare leave...” Lena whimpered, “because… because I’m not staying here… I refuse to stay here without you…”

Kara stood petrified for a moment, looking on in horror, and if Lena could’ve looked through her eyes… If Lena could’ve seen what Kara was seeing right now… She would’ve seen herself on her knees, looking up at the alien woman and crying. She would’ve seen the gun pressed to the side of her head. The second part of Lionel’s vision unfolding…

“No!!” Kara reached out to Lena’s arm, trying to lower the gun, but her hand went straight through her wrist. “No, no, no, Lena!!” she exclaimed, those beautiful blue eyes filled with fear. “You can’t do this!!”

“Why not?!” Lena whimpered. “If I know I can go after you, why shouldn’t I?!”

“Be- because,” Kara stammered, looking desperate, “because you- you have L-Corp… you always said you wanted a- a legacy of your own and you can’t do that if you’re-”

“What’s the point?! I’ll never get it done… After today, my name will be associated with countless dead aliens again… it would be better if someone else just took over. If Jess took over…”

“Jess! Exactly! She would be devastated!”

“She- she would get over it…”

“And what about Winn?!” Kara exclaimed, looking like she might start crying as well. “And- and Maggie looks worried too…” she continued, throwing a glance behind Lena, “…they- they all care about you!! And don’t pretend you don’t care about them, because I know you, Lena Luthor!! I know you and you’re one of the sweetest and most caring people I’ve ever met!! I know you care!! I know you have plenty of reasons to live!!”

Lena wanted to retort… she wanted to dismiss her… but for a split second she hesitated. Just for a moment, her determination to follow Kara wherever she went slipped from her consciousness, as she saw an image in her head of Jess nodding at her from behind her desk. She saw Winn giving her one of his silly grins. She saw Maggie giving her one of those knowing looks, along with a dimpled smile. Just for a moment, imagining all those faces, her hand subconsciously lowered as the gun momentarily pointed away from her face… and that’s when James went for it.

Immediately Lena felt a hand grab her right wrist as a strong arm snaked itself around her waist. “NO!!” Lena screamed and kicked as she tried to fight out of the man’s grasp, the two falling backwards in a seated position. Lena kept fighting the man’s hold, but suddenly another hand grabbed her fingers and tried to peel the gun out of her grip. Lena looked to the side, where Maggie had apparently managed to hobble closer, and was now trying to force the weapon out of Lena’s grasp. Lena reached out with her left hand, trying to stop the detective, but Winn must have joined the fray, because suddenly Lena felt her left arm being pulled away. Lena was now almost completely immobilized, with James holding her waist and pressing her against either his torso or his knees, she wasn’t sure which. With Winn trapping her left arm and holding onto it as if his life depended on it, while Maggie finally managed to remove the gun from Lena’s hand. She just let out a defeated whimper as the trio breathed with relief, although they still wouldn’t let go.

“You’ll see, Lena…”

The young woman with the broken heart looked up, seeing Kara’s ghost step closer and kneeling in front of her, where she was still sitting in her constrained position “…you’re going to be all right, Lena.”

“No… I’ll… I’ll never…” Lena wheezed for air as the sobs took over her body while feeling like her world was crumbling beneath her feet.

“I know it seems like that now,” Kara said softly, reaching her arms out towards her out of pure habit. “When Krypton died, I thought I’d never be happy again, either. Everyone I had ever cared about was gone, just like that. But it gets better, Lena, I mean… I got to start over. I got to meet Alex, and Eliza, and Winn… and you, of course.” She gave one of her bright smiles, while Lena just kept shaking her head and crying uncontrollably. “All of you ended up meaning just as much to me as my family on Krypton. You’ll see, Lena… there will be other people… if you just open up, there will always be other people who will care about you. You’ll see…”

“I… I…” Lena swallowed down the lump in her throat, giving Kara a pleading look full of despair, “I don’t want other people…” she just shook her head, as the tears seemed like they would never stop flowing, “…I want you.”

Kara’s look grew impossibly soft, as she gave her a sad smile. “I think that-”

Suddenly Kara breathed in sharply, her eyes going wide, as her whole body suddenly became see-through for a moment. It was almost as if she’d briefly turned into human-shaped static, before returning to her normal state. “What… what was…” she let her hands go over her stomach, while Lena sat up straighter, intently staring at what was happening. All of a sudden it happened again, as once more Kara’s whole body seemed to turn into a static-like blurriness as she stood up and staggered back. When her body returned to its normal state, Kara was looking down, a troubled look on her face. “Golly, that… that’s weird…”

Then, her whole body seemingly got sucked to the centre of her stomach. Her entire essence converged to a single point within a split second. She got sucked in and just like that… she disappeared.

Lena had stopped her crying and was now completely frozen in place, staring in disbelief at the spot were Kara’s body had just been standing. “Lena?” she heard Winn ask unsurely. “Is it… the light? Is she…”

“Corben…”

Lena inhaled sharply, realising she’d forgotten to breathe for the past few moments. “Corben,” she repeated in a whisper, as somewhere from within the depths of her subconscious, something vaguely resembling hope was lifting its head, “it… it was… it was just like Corben.” Lena breathed out, and then in. She breathed out and then in, because maybe she still had a reason to do so. She breathed out and then in, because maybe this time logic wouldn’t fail her. Maybe things in this world still made sense, and everything wasn’t just one giant contradiction. Maybe the sight she’d just seen actually meant something. Maybe it meant the exact same thing it had meant the last time she’d seen it.

“Corben?” Winn asked incredulously. “You mean… Corben was a ghost?!” Lena just nodded as she still stared ahead, still reminding herself to breathe in and then out. Just breathe in, and then out. Behind her she heard the low rumble of James’ voice: “But Corben… came back…”

Once again Lena just nodded as she drew deeper breaths, in and then out, while from deep within her mind the feeling that she didn’t dare to classify as hope, slowly started rising higher to the surface. “But if she…” James said slowly, “doesn’t that mean…”

At that moment the door behind them swung open and Alex walked out, cleaning her trembling hands with a towel, while dr. Hamilton followed with a lead box in her hands. “She- she’s gonna make it,” Alex stated in an unsteady voice, still looking down at her hands, “we… we almost lost her there for a second, but-” Alex looked up, her words halting as she frowned at the curious sight of all of them tangled together on the floor. “What- what’s going on?”

“Alex!!”

Maggie stumbled to her feet, putting Lena’s gun away in her back pocket while limping as fast as she could to her girlfriend and hugging her tight. “Jesus, babe, you scared the everlasting shit out of us!” She pulled back, looking at Alex’s shell-shocked expression. “Are you alright?” she asked concerned.

“Yeah…” Alex said in shaky voice, fooling precisely no one, “…like- like I said, she’s… she’s gonna make it and- Hey!! Hey you!!”

Alex looked past her girlfriend as Maggie turned around, to see Lena walk right past them as well as dr. Hamilton, as she barged straight into the room without even looking at the three women. Lena barely heard their voices as she walked straight to the bed with the unconscious superhero. She barely heard them arguing right outside the door: “But Maggie, she can’t just-”

“Hey, hey, Alex! It’s okay! Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“But she-”

“Take it easy, alright?! Just give her a minute.”

Apparently, Alex reluctantly agreed in the end, as Maggie carefully closed the door to the med-bay.

The noise barely registered with Lena, who was still looking at Kara. Her Kara, who was lying unconscious in that bed, slightly reclined up, and who was covered in dried up blood. They had clearly tried to clean her up as best they could, as the floor was littered with blood-drenched towels. Lena stepped to the side of the bed, never looking away, as she watched Kara breathe. The scars on her face and the holes in her suit were still visible, but her veins no longer had that green shade and she was breathing. She was lying under sunlamps and the scars didn’t appear fresh, as apparently the hero had already started healing. Lena swallowed at the sight of Kara’s hair having a slight shade of red and at the sight of the streak of dry blood that came from under her left eyelid, but she was breathing. She had wires plastered all over, monitoring her vitals, but at least she was breathing. In and then out, in and then out.

She looked over the woman’s body and her teared up suit and swallowed nervously. As she felt the wetness on her cheeks and her burning eyes, she realised that she probably didn’t look all that great herself right now. She wiped her eyes, still looking at Kara who was now unconscious in her Supergirl suit, instead of trying to comfort her in her regular clothing. Lena huffed out an incredulous breath.

“So that was awkward, huh?”

Lena laughed nervously, not sure what to do with herself. “Oh!” She suddenly remembered something and took out Kara’s glasses from her pocket. “Can’t have you going around without these, now can we?” She let out another nervous laugh, but her smile wouldn’t stick, Kara’s unresponsive state dragging the corners of her lips down as she deposited the glasses beside the bed. As she carefully moved a strand of hair out of Kara’s face and gently stroked her head, it once again hit her that she could have prevented all this. That Kara wouldn’t have been on the brink of death just now, if she’d just shot her mother.

“I’m sorry for being such a coward,” Lena muttered. She let out a ragged breath as she looked over Kara's  eyelids and the scars that were steadily healing now. Of course she knew that she cared about Kara, but seeing her as a ghost certainly put things in a whole new perspective. Because what _was_ she supposed to do without her? Lena swallowed nervously as she kept looking over Kara’s face. She wanted nothing more than for the woman to open her eyes and to be alright again, but as long as she was like this… As long as Kara couldn’t hear what she was saying anyway… It was probably the only time she would dare to say what she really wanted to…

“I should probably tell you something,” Lena almost whispered, feeling her heartbeat promptly pick up, “and I’m sorry that I’m telling you this when you’re unconscious. I guess mother was right…” she huffed out a humourless laugh, “I really do have a spineless streak. But… when- when you look at me… with those eyes, I… I don’t think I’d be able to tell you, so I- I’m gonna say it now.” Lena swallowed as she tried to steady  herself while blinking furiously.

“I used to think that it didn’t make any sense” Lena started. “At first I thought that it wasn’t logical how I just… wanted to see you all the time, even when we’d just met. I mean, I- I never really liked reporters on principal, you know? So it just wasn’t logical that I would invite you over just to thank you for some article, or that I would talk to you about Lex, or that- that I would be happy to invite you to my gala.” She frowned as she shook her head. “You know me, Kara… I’m a scientist; when something isn’t logical I just can’t stand it. Things that aren’t logical annoy me to no end, but… for some reason I was happy for you to be a mystery.” She smiled at Kara’s closed eyelids as her hands subconsciously gripped the bedsheets. “Later I thought it made more sense… I thought I just didn’t know how to have friends. I thought that anyone would be eager to see you and to be friends with you, and to be honest,” she huffed out a laugh, “they should be.” Lena’s smile faded again, as she continued.

“But it… it was Sam that made me see it. You would have really liked her, Kara, she- she wanted to be a reporter just like you. She was…” she laughed and shook her head, “…she was great, but… she always kept teasing me, you know? She always made fun of how I would jump through hoops to help you, and… just… how I acted around you... I just thought she had a strange sense of humour at first, but… later I figured out that it might be something else.” Lena’s gaze fell to her hands, unable to look at Kara even though she had her eyes closed, feeling terribly embarrassed at everything she was saying.

“When- when it- when something… crossed my mind the first time, I… I just thought it was absurd. Usually I can’t stand it when things aren’t logical… but I actually ignored logic this time. I kept telling myself: ‘Logic doesn’t make any sense this time. Kara is a paradox.’ You know… stuff like that.” She swallowed as she looked back up at Kara’s face, the tears starting to burn behind her eyes, as she realised that the words were about to come out of her mouth. As humiliated and torn as she felt about it, she was actually about to say it. “But I… I really meant what I said earlier, Kara. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do without you and you…” she opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to force the words out, “…you’re not a paradox. Everything does make sense after all… so…” she swallowed harshly, fighting the tears that were starting to well up again, “…you can hold my hand, Kara.” She reached out and grabbed the hand of the unconscious hero.

 

“You can take my hand, and…” her face contorted as she leaned closer to Kara, “you can take my whole life too if you want to, because… because I just…” Lena drew a ragged breath and felt a tear escape her eye, “…I just can’t help falling in love with you.”

 

Lena whimpered as she breathed out, her lip quivering, before laughing incredulously at the words she’d just uttered. But as much as she wanted to say that it wasn’t logical, as much as she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs that there was no way in hell that Lena Luthor was in love with a woman, she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She couldn’t say it wasn’t logical, because as she looked at the beautiful face in front of her and leaned closer, suddenly there was nothing else that made more sense. Maybe it was the rush of adrenaline at having just said it out loud. Maybe it was the knowledge that it was now or never. That no one would find out anyway, and that she’d never get another chance. But whatever it was, in one moment of rare fearlessness, she suddenly surged closer… and pressed her lips against Kara’s.

It didn’t last long.

It didn’t last long until Lena pulled back at feeling overwhelmed by everything. By Kara almost dying, by herself almost following suit, by the words she’d tried to repress so deeply just this morning. Lena stepped away and turned around, covering her eyes with her hand and trying her best to push back the stream of tears that she could feel coming on. With her head bowed, her eyes covered, and her lip quivering uncontrollably, she burst out of the med-bay and past all the people in the hallway. And she prayed that none of them would lay their eyes on her right now, or possibly ever again, as she ran away and into the long corridor.

 

Running fast on her bare feet, as if she was being chased by her own shame.

 

 

* * *

 

 

There was a faucet dripping in the bathroom on the first floor of the DEO. Now that her tears had dried, now that her sobbing had calmed down, Lena could actually hear it from the stall she was currently occupying. She wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed since she’d locked herself in there, with nothing but her blood stained coat that was now lying on the floor. She was sitting down, leaning her head against the side of the stall as she carefully traced her lips with her finger, while being lost in her own thoughts.

It hardly seemed real that just this morning she’d been sitting on Kara’s couch, ready to introduce the woman to Star Wars. That it was barely five hours ago, that she’d been casually eating her strawberries while repressing certain confusing feelings. And it wasn’t even the fact that she at last had a quiet moment, that made her think about it. It wasn’t even the fact that for the first time since then, she wasn’t in a life or death situation. No, what made her think about it was Kara. How Kara’s lips had felt against her own. And how they’d tasted of pizza…

Lena’s whole body felt like it was burning up, thinking back on it now. She’d told her that it was logical. She’d told the unconscious hero that it made sense after all, but did it really? How did Lena Luthor go from controlled, poised and dignified, albeit slightly emotionally divested woman, to the pitiful, blubbering and- and- and… - _come on, Lena spit it out!_ \- …slightly less straight than she’d imagined mess, that was now sitting on the lid of a DEO toilet? I mean, she _could_ think of an answer. There was one answer that seemed obvious, but it didn’t seem fair to put it that way. It didn’t seem fair to say that it was all Kara’s fault. Because, let’s face it, she was infinitely grateful that Kara was in her life. As she’d just made painfully clear earlier; she couldn’t imagine her life without Kara in it. Honestly, she should feel nothing but gratitude towards her. Although admittedly, there was no denying that she felt a whole lot more than that…

At a certain point, Lena realised that she couldn’t keep sitting there forever. She had to face the music at some point, so she got up and got out of the bathroom, completely forgetting about her coat, and stepped back into the broad hallway. As she rounded the corner into the long corridor that lead back to the med-bay, she noticed Winn sitting on the ground facing the blinded window while Maggie stood in front of him, seemingly talking to him. Both their heads turned in her direction as she came closer, and Winn immediately shot up and ran towards her while Maggie gingerly stumbled after him.

Before Lena could say anything, Winn suddenly had his arms around her and was spluttering around his tears: “You stupid idiot! You cretin! You jackass! You moron, backwards thinking, inconsiderate… stupid…”

Lena patted the man on his back, cursing her burning eyes, which she’d only just managed to get dry. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Winn…”

“You b- bantha fodder… you can’t just…”

“I know… I- I’m sorry…”

“Alright, alright, Winn,” Maggie gently tugged him back, having finally caught up, “give the woman some space.”

“You- you can’t just do that,” Winn sputtered as he stepped back and sniffed loudly, “you can’t just… Kara was almost gone… and- and then… I had to watch you… you almost…”

“I’m sorry,” Lena repeated, swallowing harshly and any other phrasing failing her, “I’m sorry…”

“Alright, Winn,” Maggie said, patting him on the shoulder as she tugged him further back, “keep it together, would you? Why don’t you go back to the others and let me have a word with little Luthor?” Winn just nodded, wiping his eyes as he turned to the med-bay. Just as he took his second step, however, he suddenly turned around again and went past Maggie to give Lena another hug. She huffed a small laugh as she patted him on the back again, before he quickly turned and walked away, rubbing his eyes. Lena and Maggie both watched him step through the corridor and into the med-bay, and only after the door closed behind him did the detective turn back to face Lena.

“So… is- is Kara awake yet?” Lena asked slowly.

“No, she’s still under,” Maggie responded, looking slightly uneasy. “Her wounds are as good as gone now, though, so Alex thinks she should wake up pretty soon. Everyone’s in there with her right now.” Lena just nodded as she looked at the ground. “So,” Maggie started unsurely, “are we cool?”

Lena frowned in confusion, looking back up. “What do you mean?”

“Just… about the whole part where I killed your mother.”

“You mean the part where you saved me?” Lena asked surprised. “You really don’t have to apologise-”

“O, I’m not apologising,” Maggie interrupted, “no offence, Luthor, but sooner or later… that bitch had to die.” Lena huffed out small laugh as Maggie shifted on her feet. “But still, just to make sure… are we cool?”

Lena smiled as she nodded. “Yes, Maggie. We’re cool.”

“Good.” Maggie nodded her head and breathed out, before fixing Lena with an intent look. “So now that we got that out of the way…”

Lena suddenly saw the detective’s hand fly towards her in a flash, before it made contact with her face; the slap leaving a sharp pain on her cheek. Lena brought her hand up to the burning spot, looking incredulously at Maggie, who stepped closer in anger.

“Suicide?!” she hissed. “Really, Luthor?! _Really?!_ ” She breathed out of her nose, apparently struggling to contain her anger. “I’m glad you’re not as delusional as your family, but _clearly_ you inherited their sense for melodrama!!” Lena was momentarily stunned as she looked at the woman’s furious eyes.

“I… I just…” Lena swallowed, not expecting to have to explain herself this soon, “…I don’t… think that I could live without her…”

“Cut the crap, Luthor!!” Maggie barked, still looking furious. “You think that Alex doesn’t worry about Kara, or about me for that matter?! When you know people in our line of work you better get used to them risking their life, because I can guarantee you that it’s gonna happen a lot!!”

“I just-”

“And you can give her heart eyes all you want, but this whole ‘dying without her’ thing just has co-dependency written all over it!!”

Lena hung her head and huffed out a small laugh. “Is that your official diagnosis, dr. Sawyer?”

“You’re seriously joking about this right now?!”

Lena looked back up, finding Maggie with her eyebrows raised and an incredulous expression on her face. “No, I’m… I’m not…” Lena breathed out and looked at her feet, avoiding the woman’s eyes, “I’m serious, Maggie. I really don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“Well, you better figure it out,” Maggie replied sternly, as Lena lifted her head. “Because like I said: Kara’s gonna be in danger a lot of times, trying to save this city.” She put her hands on her hips. “So the very first thing you’re gonna do when you step out of this building is find yourself a therapist, do you hear me? And you better not try something like that again, or else…”

Lena raised her eyebrows at her. “Or else what? You’re gonna kill me?”

Maggie responded with a warning glare. “Okay… like I _just_ said: way too soon to be joking about this, Luthor. And no… what I meant was: You better not try something like that again, or else I’ll chain you up in an abandoned warehouse somewhere and force-feed you pizza until you weigh 300 pounds, then take a picture of your obese ass and send it to Kara.”

Lena huffed out an incredulous breath, darting her eyes between Maggie’s. “That… that’s really not funny.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m being serious.”

Maggie was still looking at her intently, no humour to be seen on her face, and Lena was struggling to find a response when suddenly a loud crashing sound could be heard from the med-bay.

Lena and Maggie shared a concerned look, before they both ran towards the room, Lena basically throwing herself at the door, while Maggie limped after her. As Lena barged in, she could see Kara standing beside the bed and frantically looking around, while the people around her were trying to calm her down. When Kara’s eyes fell onto Lena, she momentarily froze, before walking up to her with her arms stretched out and a concerned expression on her face. Lena thought that she’d never looked like a lost puppy more than right now, as the wires attached to the alien woman got entangled with the bed and the sunlamps, and Kara unconsciously dragged them halfway across the med-bay, having eyes only for Lena.

“Lena!!”

She reached out and actually took Lena’s face in her hands, letting her eyes go over the woman, and Lena thought she was about to faint at the sight of Kara actually being up and about. Not to mention her face being almost as close to hers as it was before…

“You’re okay!” Kara exclaimed with relief. “I- I’m sorry… I just had this terrible nightmare and- and- you were crying and- I was dead and- you- you had a gun and-”

“Shhh” Lena reached up and covered the woman’s hands with her own, “it’s okay… it- it was just a dream. I’m fine Kara, it… it was just a bad dream.” Lena could almost feel Maggie burning a hole through her with a scorching glare, but she didn’t look away from those beautiful blue eyes in front of her, the left one now completely healed.

“Yes, Kara,” Alex suddenly interjected in an unsteady, but unusually harsh voice, “you had a bad dream. So get over it, sit down, and please put the bed back in place so you can rest and I can examine you.”

Kara huffed out a self-conscious laugh as she looked back at the mess she’d made, before letting go of Lena and pushing the bed back into place. Alex started untangling the wires with aggressive movements, while Kara sat down on the bed and looked at Lena again, who slowly stepped closer. “It was so scary, Lena! I mean, I’ve had bad dreams before but this one just seemed so real, you know?!” Lena swallowed nervously, while the three people that knew the truth shared uncomfortable looks.

“Turn around, Kara,” Alex commanded, “I need to take a look at-”

“And it sort of made sense because I just got shot, you know?! It was just so scary and I-”

“WILL YOU LISTEN TO ME?!”

Kara looked to the other side of the bed in surprise, where Alex seemed to be trembling with anger. “Yeah!” she exclaimed in an unsteady voice. “Hi! Remember me?! Alex?! Your sister?! Who had to revive you just now?! Who had to trust that you’d wake up once you got your powers back?! Who had to prod around your guts, looking for almost invisible pieces of Kryptonite?!”

“O, Alex…”

“No, d- don’t…”

Kara jumped of the bed to instantly wrap Alex in a hug, while Lena watched the always so fierce and determined agent start crying. Lena stepped to the other side of the bed and next to Winn, while Maggie came to stand beside her. As Winn smiled at her and put an arm around her shoulders, the three of them looked on as Kara hugged her sister close, while James patted Alex on the shoulder. “Okay, okay,” Alex tried to collect herself as she extricated herself from Kara’s arms, “now just… just sit down so you can recharge and I can make sure you’re alright.”

“I actually feel pretty good already, maybe I could-”

“Kara…” the secret agent gave the superhero a warning glare that would put Lillian Luthor to shame and Lena thought it was stunning how intimidating Alex could look, even with fresh tear streaks on her face.

“Alright, alright,” Kara moped as she sat down on the bed and Alex started adjusting the sunlamps, while wiping at her face.

They all talked about the attack on the city; James recounting his experiences on the street, Maggie explaining how they’d managed to hold down the NCPD until the DEO had arrived. Winn was very excited when he’d started talking about how he and Lena had saved the day, but Lena had to step in halfway through the story; aggressively stomping on Winn’s toes when he’d gotten to the part about Kerry Runnels. Lena was just stumbling through an altered version of their lab struggles, when Kara started frowning. She let her tongue dart between her lips and turned to the other side.

“Hey, Alex?” she muttered.

“Yeah?”

“Didn’t you… didn’t you tell me once that humans can get a strange taste in their mouth when they have a head injury?”

Alex froze, giving her sister a concerned look. “Yes…” she started warily, “it sometimes happens if they have a concussion.” Alex looked concerned as she took a closer look at her sister. “Sometimes it’s more a reduced sense of taste in general that-”

“No, no, it’s…” Kara frowned deeper as she smacked her lips a few times, “…it tastes like… strawberries…”

Alex looked concerned as she took a small flashlight and started examining Kara’s eyes, nervously asking more questions about possible signs that she might have a concussion. Maggie and James also stepped closer, while looking Kara over with concern. That’s why nobody noticed Winn choking on air, before throwing an incredulous glance towards Lena. Nobody but Winn noticed Lena averting her eyes, while her face turned as red as the aforementioned fruits…

 

 

* * *

 

 

  _Three weeks later: June 17 th _

 

“Kara, what’s wrong?”

Lena looked across the kitchen counter, where Kara was sitting on a stool and displaying one of her adorable pouts. It was a pretty funny sight; Kara’s whole apartment decorated to the brim, with an obscene amount of balloons everywhere and even a giant banner with ‘Happy Birthday, Lena!!’ hanging in the middle of the living room. There were festive garlands hanging all around and an excessively decorated cake stood on display in the kitchen (which Kara insisted she would’ve definitely baked herself, but she didn’t want anyone to get food poisoning). There were several silly plastic party hats sitting on the table, ready for when the guests arrived, and Lena was pretty sure that no party should look like this unless the guests were under the age of ten. Meanwhile, Kara fiddled with one of the little hats while still pouting.

“Nothing’s wrong” she muttered.

Lena sighed as she smiled and shook her head. “I thought this was what you wanted?” she asked amused. “You were all excited to throw me a birthday party and now you’re looking all sour. What is it? Did you finish all the food already?”

“I did not!” Kara exclaimed, looking offended. Lena chuckled at her successful teasing, while Kara reverted to her pouting. “But… it’s just not fair, Lena” she whined. “Birthday presents are, like, the best part of a birthday party! Everyone should get presents on their birthday! So… this whole rule about nobody being allowed to buy you a present it- it’s…” Lena raised her eyebrows as Kara swelled up with indignation, “…it’s just stupid!”

Lena chuckled fondly at yet another thing that Kara took so very seriously. “I thought you said that the birthday girl always gets to make the rules?” she asked teasingly. Kara groaned and rolled her eyes as Lena laughed at her. “Besides, I don’t like receiving gifts anyway…”

“Nonsense! Everyone likes getting presents!”

“I know that _you_ do,” Lena smiled. “Which is why…” she reached into her purse on the counter and pulled out a small wrapped box, “…I got you something.”

Kara sat up straighter, as she looked at  the box with surprise. “You’re… you’re giving _me_ a present?” Lena just nodded her head shyly, as Kara laughed and took the gift in her hands. “I don’t think you quite understand how birthdays work,” Kara teased as she started unwrapping the paper.

“Hey… my birthday, my rules,” Lena smirked.

Kara smiled widely as she took a small black box out of the paper and opened the lid. “Wow,” she took out a simple silver necklace with a small pendant at the end, “this is really pretty.” Lena smiled nervously at her. “Is there a picture inside?” Kara asked excitedly, as she went to open the small picture pendant.

“Not… not exactly…”

Kara’s eyes widened slightly as she opened the pendant, her mouth forming a silent ‘o’. Inside the small pendant was an engraving of just two letters, that had decorative curls and that Lena had made sure, appeared to be written in an appropriately stylish handwriting. Kara’s lips formed a small smile as she stared at the initials:

_L.L._

“You know that… that I’m a busy woman,” Lena started nervously while fiddling with her fingers, as Kara looked back up at her, “and that I’m not a superhero, so I can’t just fly away to see you anytime I feel like it.” She huffed out a small laugh. “I just thought that… maybe I won’t always be able to be there for you whenever you need me. So if that happens… you can just hold onto this. So you know that you’re not alone.” Lena swallowed nervously as she looked at Kara, who was staring at the inscription again. “I- I don’t want you to think that- that I’m trying to- to put myself on the same level as your mother or anything,” Lena stammered nervously, “it’s just that… I couldn’t stop thinking about you telling me that you felt alone sometimes and… and I know how that feels and I just thought-”

Kara suddenly jumped up from her stool and rounded the kitchen counter at a speed that was definitely not human, before hugging Lena tightly. “Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Lena chuckled, but her smile faded when Kara started repeatedly kissing her cheek while still holding onto her, causing Lena’s face to heat up to Vesuvian temperatures. “This is, like, the best birthday present ever! Although…” she pulled back and looked at Lena, who was afraid that her ribs would crack with the force her heart was pounding against it, “…maybe it doesn’t count as a birthday present, if it’s not _my_ birthday…” she shook her head dismissively. “It doesn’t matter, it’s still the best present ever!”

Lena laughed nervously, seeing Kara’s smiling blue eyes ever so close, and actively forcing herself to not look down at her lips. “Don’t- don’t exaggerate, Kara,” she said shyly.

“No, I’m serious,” Kara said with one of her bright smiles, as she stepped back and immediately put the necklace on, clicking the connection in place behind her neck. “I can’t wait to show everyone! You’ll see; the Superfriends are gonna be sooo jealous!”

Lena was still trying to command her heartrate to a normal level, but she couldn’t help snorting at that. “The Superfriends?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “Let me guess: Winn came up with that, didn’t he?”

“Yes, actually, he did” Kara responded. Lena laughed as she shook her head, while Kara gave her a curious look. “So… are you ever gonna tell me how you and Winn became friends?” she asked unsurely.

Lena’s smile quickly faded, as her heartrate picked back up. She looked at Kara’s questioning look, and wasn’t immediately sure what to say. She opened and closed her mouth, realising she didn’t want Kara to hate her. She didn’t want Kara to react as badly as she had done when she’d found out about the woman’s alter ego. But… she also didn’t want to lie to her…

“I…”

She flinched in surprise at the sound of a knock on the door. “Oh,” Kara exclaimed as she looked behind her, “the gang is here!” She quickly went to open the door, while Lena was feeling partly grateful for the interruption. “Hey, guys!” Kara greeted cheerfully, as Winn and James were the first ones to come in. They went over to Lena and immediately started congratulating her with her birthday, before looking taken aback by the announcement that Kara _demanded_ everyone to wear those little plastic hats. Maggie came in behind them, her leg almost recovered, and her limp being barely noticeable anymore. “Hey,” Kara started while frowning, “where’s Alex?”

“She’s not coming,” Maggie said, moving her hands to her pockets. “Sorry, little Danvers. I tried to convince her, but… I don’t know, she’s been acting weird the past few days.”

“That’s okay, Maggie,” Kara sighed, looking slightly disappointed, “she always gets like this around father’s day.”

As Maggie stepped inside, she also congratulated the birthday girl. When they all moved to the living room, Lena couldn’t help feeling incredibly silly at the sight of all of them wearing those plastic little hats. (Except Maggie, who categorically refused to wear one despite Kara threatening to stick it to her head using her freeze breath.) There were games, and there was cake. There was a lot of laughter, especially when Jess arrived half an hour late and started profusely apologising not only to Lena but also to all of the guests, before she’d even properly introduced herself to James. There was some underhanded teasing by Maggie as well, after Kara had proudly displayed the silver pendant with Lena’s initials in it. There was a lot of groaning and sighing, as nobody seemed to be able to beat Lena at anything, no matter what game they played.

It was several hours later that Lena found herself in the kitchen, after managing to carry the dirty plates away despite Kara protesting the absurdity of the birthday girl doing chores. She was lost in her own thoughts when Kara came to check on her. “Lena? Are you alright?”

Lena smiled as she looked up at the woman beside her. “I’m fine,” she assured her, “I just couldn’t help thinking that I never really imagined having a birthday party.”

“What do you mean?!” Kara exclaimed, seemingly taken aback. “You- you must’ve had some when you were a kid!”

“I didn’t, actually…”

Kara huffed out a breath, shaking her head and looking thoroughly offended. “That- that is just… I’m sorry, but…” she darted her eyes between Lena’s and the young CEO just smiled at the reporter’s offence, “…your family sucks!” Kara swallowed, seeming nervous that she might’ve crossed the line, while Lena just huffed out a laugh.

“They really do,” Lena said.

“That’s not true.”

Kara and Lena both looked to the side, where Winn was standing on the other side of the kitchen counter, chewing on food, with a half-eaten piece of cake in his hand and a confused frown on his face.

“Winn!” Kara exclaimed incredulously. “What do you mean that’s not true?! Did you hit your head or something?! Did you forget what Lena’s mother did last month?!”

“You really can’t defend my mother, Winn,” Lena added with a smirk, “believe me; I’ve tried.”

“Well no, of course I know _that_ , but…” he darted his eyes between the two women while frowning, as if they were missing something completely obvious, “but that doesn’t matter anymore. I mean… we’re your family now.”

Winn casually took another bite of his cake, as Kara and Lena stared at him for a moment. “Wow,” Kara said, “you can say some really nice things sometimes, you know that?”

“What do you mean ‘sometimes’? I always say nice th-”

“Winn! You’re getting crumbs all over the floor!”

“Oh, come on, you have Super-” he glanced towards the living room, “I mean, you’re really fast! You can clean that up in a second!”

“I’m not your cleaning lady. Get a plate!”

“Oh, don’t be so- hey!”

Kara dragged him back towards the table in the living room, while Lena stared at the scene from the kitchen. She swallowed harshly, while Kara and Winn were still bickering away as if the man hadn’t just said something completely life-altering. She kept staring at all the people in the living room with a watery smile on her face, realising they had just broken her rule. She looked at Winn, the little brother she never had, if you overlooked the fact that he was older than her. She looked at Jess, who had always stood by her no matter the situation. She looked at James, who she maybe didn’t know as well as the rest, but without whom she wouldn’t be here right now. She looked at Maggie, who (ironically) always gave it to her straight, even if she didn’t want to hear it. And she looked at Kara… who had rooted herself into Lena’s heart so deeply that it honestly scared her. Lena felt a long-forgotten sense of safety invade her, looking at all the people who had broken the birthday girl’s rule, while she smiled at the sight of the one gift that no one had ever gotten her:

 

A Family she could Trust.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

_Epilogue_

 

It was evening by the time that Winn left Kara’s apartment. Because of the time of year, the sun hadn’t set just yet, and it illuminated the narrow hallway with an orange light. Winn stretched his hands above his head as the door closed behind him, while letting out a long yawn. He took a step towards the left, and noticed who was still lingering near the end of the hall. “Hey! Lena!” Winn greeted enthusiastically as he stepped closer to the woman. “What are you still doing here?”

Lena smiled at him. “I was waiting for you.”

“For me?” he asked surprised. “Did I forget something?” He proceeded to feel in his pockets. “I have my keys, I still have my-”

“No, Winn,” Lena chuckled, amused by his antics, “I just wanted to give you something. And I thought it would be best to not do it in front of… well, everyone.”

Winn’s eyebrows shot up as Lena took her second present out of her purse an handed it to the man. “Wait,” he started, seeming excited, “I’m getting a present?” Lena nodded, causing him to give a laugh. “Well, I _did_ help save National City, so I guess I deserve one…”

“Yes,” Lena agreed, “you do.”

Winn gave a broad grin as he started unwrapping the paper, revealing a small plastic box. He opened the lid and upon seeing the contents, his eyes went as wide as two omelettes. “OH MY GOD!!!”

“Shhh,” Lena hissed, throwing a glance back at the door of apartment 4a, “there’s someone with super hearing right next door!”

Winn just opened and closed his mouth, darting his wide eyes between the box and Lena. “I- this- this- this is…” he huffed out an incredulous laugh, “this means… it’s official… it’s official now, right?!” He gave Lena an overly excited look.

“Yes, Winn,” she smirked, “it’s official.”

Winn picked up the contents from the box, his hand shaking with excitement. In his hand he held a plastic badge. It was just a toy; a small, silver sheriff’s badge, but what made Winn so enthusiastic was the engraving on the front. It didn’t say ‘sheriff’, or any other official rank. Instead, it gave him the only rank he was ever after:

_nr.1 PALL_

“Yes!! This makes it official!! I’m officially the Paranormal Assistant to Lena Luthor!! I’m now a triple sidekick!! Supergirl, Guardian and you; I’m a multitasking machine!! Ha, ha, tell that to that assistant of yours” he added smugly. Lena rolled her eyes, afraid she might’ve boosted the man’s ego a little too much. “Somebody should call the people at Guinness, this _has_ to be a first!!”

“Okay, okay,” Lena said, trying to sound stern but unable to help her smile, “just remember; you only wear this on duty, understood? I can’t have you parading around with that thing on your shirt all day.” Winn just nodded, clearly still very excited, as he put the badge and its box away in the pocket of his jacket. “Good,” Lena smirked, “at least now I won’t have to listen to your attempts at creating silly names anymore.”

“On the contrary!” Winn exclaimed. “Now we’re getting to the really good part: The part where we finally give you a Superhero name!”

Lena groaned loudly. “You cannot be serious.”

“Of course I am! You just wait, I’ve got a whole list ready, I’m sure there’s at least _one_ you’ll absolutely love!” Lena just shook her head in exasperation as she started walking towards the stairs with Winn beside her. “You know” he suddenly started, “this is really great, but… you know that this is not how birthdays work, right?”

“Yes,” Lena laughed, “Kara said something similar.”

“You gave her a present too?” Lena nodded again and Winn, for some reason, gave her one of his cheeky grins. “Was it something… strawberry-flavoured?”

Lena stopped in her tracks, right in front of the small window next to the stairs, and gave Winn one of her signature glares. “One more word on that, and I’m revoking your badge.”

“Whoa! You can’t do that!”

He clutched the side of his jacket and Lena glared at him long enough for him to get the message. As Lena turned around to continue walking, he started muttering something about unacceptable threats, but fell quiet when he noticed Lena stopping again and staring out of the small window.

“Lena? Are- are you alright?”

She didn’t respond immediately, as she kept looking out the window. Down below, in the middle of street, a man was frantically looking around as he kept approaching random pedestrians. He appeared to talk to them, pleading, if she had to guess, but the people that passed by didn’t even look at him. They kept walking without giving him as much as a sideways glance. “There’s a ghost down there” Lena said slowly. Winn quickly scurried beside her, looking out the window as well, as if he’d be able to see something. “We should help him” she said softly.

Winn turned to look at Lena, seeming surprised. “Really? I mean, you actually want  to go looking for people to help now?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Lena responded as she turned to look at the man as well, “but… I don’t think I should ignore them anymore, even if they don’t know that I can help them. After all…” she swallowed, looking back into the hallway and feeling her face flush red, “…it’s what Kara would do, right? Put other people first…” Lena looked back at Winn, noticing he was grinning widely.

“So…” he started slowly, glancing between Lena and the window, almost bouncing on his feet in excitement and with a hopeful expression, “…new case?”

Lena sighed as she looked out the window at the ghost desperately trying to get someone’s attention, before turning back to Winn’s excited face and giving a determined nod. “New case.”

“Yes!”

Lena stepped towards the stairs, but halted and turned around at the sound of Winn’s voice: “Hang on! Just a sec…” he hurriedly reached into his pocket and took out his badge, before carefully pinning it on his shirt. As soon as he did, he proudly turned to Lena with a wide grin. She smiled back at him, as they now both stepped away from the window.

 

Lena Luthor and her trusted sidekick started walking down the stairs. They headed outside… and headed off to their next ghostly adventure.

 

 

\--------------------------------------------------------THE END-------------------------------------------------------

(for now…)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it…  
> Exactly seven months to the day after posting the first chapter, I actually finished my very first story. All in all, I think I did alright. For those who were interested in a sequel: it’s going to happen, but I first want to see where the show goes with certain storylines, so I know which ones to keep and which to scrap. (Sam and Ruby, Mon-el’s return, etc.) I intend to stick fairly closely to canon until about probably 3x07 and then we’ll go off on our own merry way. So yeah, expect that story to pop up somewhere around May. 
> 
> EDIT: Make that July. I have no excuse, except writing is just hard sometimes.
> 
> Finally, I would just like to thank everyone who read my story and/or took the time to comment. Even if I don’t reply, I read them all and I appreciate every last one. Shout out to LunaPris for leaving the very first comment. I could probably talk for hours about this story, the creation process, what I changed at the last minute, fun facts, but I’m gonna stop bothering you now and just say thank you once more for taking an interest in this silly experiment of mine. (I’m still not sure whether I’m proud or embarrassed that I wrote a 120k word fanfiction) 
> 
> So I guess… a belated merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight :)


End file.
